Filenews 21 June 2021 - by Dora Christodoulou
For five years, the residents of Paphos and its visitors have enjoyed a completely new and upgraded image and operation of the central fabric of the city. Now, the municipality is again ready for another large-scale, though not as large-scale, redevelopment in its central locations.
These are reconstructions in the area of Panagia Theoskepastis, in the district of Anavargos and in the area south of the shopping centr. Based on the provisions of the study commissioned, the project will highlight to the best extent each regeneration area, provide incentives for the overall restoration of any abandoned or damaged buildings and greatly increase the number of visitors who tour the settlement, with the corresponding economic and social benefits for residents and local businesses.
Speaking to "F" about the new attempted renewal, the municipal councillor of the EDEC, Panagiotis Vorkas, points out that the plans are at an advanced stage and the Municipal Authority hopes that in 2021 it will be a fact to start implementing this new package of major projects in the municipal area.
The objectives of this effort, as Panagiotis Vorkas points out, are the enrichment and upgrading of the functional infrastructure of each area through the regeneration and landscaping of the roads, the removal of small and unsuitable unlicensed structures on the surface of the road, both to provide a satisfactory level of services for the local population and for travellers, as well as the construction of facilities to attract visitors.
The study areas were captured in detail with modern methods of 3D digital imaging and the background for the development of the regeneration study was created, according to the municipal councillor of EDEC.
"Regarding the district of Anvargos", he explains, "Greek scholars characterize it as peri-urban which includes mainly houses without other activities of low or medium nuisance. Due to location, however, it is used as an intermediate destination for access to dynamically developing adjacent residential development areas. Due to the small width of the road surface and the heavy traffic load especially during the morning and midday hours of the day, significant problems are recorded in the smooth movement of vehicles, they find.
In the central area of the settlement, which has potential characteristics of a square, interventions are provided for the development of a common area with green zones, and generally as an elementary area of assembly and recreation of the community.
Due to the existing negative aesthetic influence of the buildings of the taverns on the environment of the square, especially the side structures, reveals Mr. Vorkas, it is proposed to modify their fascia and surroundings in order to create a minimally acceptable whole.
Regarding the redevelopment of the southern part of the already redeveloped commercial and historical centre, Panagiotis Vorkas explains that this is the part of it that was not integrated due to geomorphic characteristics in the great regeneration of the centre in previous years and which will now, after the implementation of these projects, be a complete part of the commercial centre of Paphos.
"The study of experts points out that within the area due to the narrowness of the road network the feeling created in the common area is negative due to the absence of green or open free spaces," he explains. 'The movement of vehicles on the road network, which also includes sections with a sufficient or even strong gradient, is problematic, because it concerns not only residents but also transit residents who try with alternative routes to avoid overloading the adjacent crossings of the nearest main arteries.
Also, the building stock of the area includes old houses, a few abandoned buildings, but also new buildings mainly using housing, offices but also a few shops on the ground floor, observe the scholars. The general image of the area is aesthetically negative due to the diverse presence of all kinds, private buildings and the lack of care for the living communal space. In this context, the main objective of the proposed redevelopment is to organise and promote the public space through targeted interventions".
The proposed traffic arrangement saves little space to provide organized parking spaces in a zone alongside the flow of vehicle traffic to meet the minimum needs of residents and workers in the area, he stresses. At the intersection of Ermou, Nikos Antoniadis and Pallas streets, which is the only point of the area with sufficient dimensions, an effort is made to recover and emerge a vital communal area with minimal planting that acts as a breathing clearing in the area.
DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORT ZONES IN POSEIDON
On Poseidon Coastal Avenue, which is offered due to its wide width and combination of different uses on both sides, it is proposed to redesign the traffic zones by transferring vehicle traffic to the south side (large hotel ownership zone), in order to create a single zone of shared functions in front of the numerous leisure shops.
"The main unifying feature in all regeneration areas", concludes Panagiotis Vorkas, "is the use of curved engravings that create shapes that interact or even intersect, but above all fit perfectly into the geometric randomness of the outlines of the available spaces".
Interesting study for Panagia Theoskepasti
Of particular interest is the study of the area of Panagia Theoskepastis church and the streets surrounding it, due to the fact that it concerns the heart of the tourist area of Kato Paphos. As Mr Vorkas points out, the subject of the study is a large part of the tourist area of Kato Paphos and indeed the most commercial part of it.
"The characteristics of the area", he stresses, "include the sense of open space with visual escapes to the beach, the church, the archaeological zone and the recreation zone where most food and leisure shops are concentrated, as well as volume pedestrian traffic. Inside the study area there are differences in uses, geometric characteristics and therefore the possibilities of interventions in the common area. In many places, especially on Leda Street, there is intense commercial activity often expressed in an aggressive advertising way and means, such as with apparently arbitrary constructions for table seats, excessive inscriptions and constructions of all kinds".
Points to be highlighted in the area, says the municipal councillor Paphos, are the Holy Church of Panagia Theoskepastis, the old Kindergarten building, the path to and from the archaeological site, Poseidon Avenue up to the plateau around the existing information building of the then CTO that is planned to be demolished, the visual escapes to the sea as well as the vertical paths leading to it.
In this context, he explains, the square of Panagia Theoskepastis provides for the formation of a perimeter paving and green zone with sufficient dimensions to be recovered and a vital communal area with minimal planting that acts as a breathing clearing in the area.
The area around the building of the preserved Kindergarten is also part of the redevelopment and will be the unifying living space that will rearrange access to the fenced Archaeological site and the column of the Apostle Paul.
