Filenews 22 April 2022 - by Dora Christodoulou
As the tourist flow in Paphos increases, so does the concern in the heart of the city's tourism, the harbour and the pier. Queues of cars, tourist buses that were forced to disembark their passengers in the middle of the road, delay in leaving the coastal front reminiscent of big cities with a severe traffic problem, have been the picture in Kato Paphos during the last few days.
The cause of the 'not at all positive' image, according to the businessmen of the coastal front, is the lack of parking spaces, given that the works in the parking area of the Archaeological Park, in the section that is formed after the movement of the public transport facilities, have not been completed yet and therefore the space was not opened to the public.
Professionals in the area protest strongly, asking officials to ensure the opening of the site, claiming that even if unfinished the project could be used due to the huge number of visitors. Essentially, they argue, only the asphalt paving of the site remains to complete the project.
By leaving the area closed, they overloaded the entire other coastal front, resulting in tourist buses being forced to disembark people on the main road by the land area of the port. And this, while the parking lot under development today, comfortably offers another 600 spaces for vehicles, which would solve the problem."
There were also strong protests and dissatisfaction from motorists, who characteristically complained that the route from the pier to the traffic junction of the mall, i.e. a distance of only 1-2 kilometres, took 40 and 50 minutes to cover.
"All that has been happening in the last few days," local professionals told us, "is only the beginning of the region's woes, unless the officials in charge push for the acceleration of the works. This situation was created when only a few tourist buses came each day to Kato Paphos. When the great tourist flow starts in a moment, you realize what will happen in the heart of our tourism".
