Filenews 8 July 2023
Fans of teams literally defuse themselves on the signs, mainly on intercity roads, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of euros to the state, with the possibility of detecting the vandals being minimal, since in order to be brought to justice they must be caught in the act, which is considered almost unlikely.
It is worth noting that this year only on the Kofinou – Larnaka road there is an offer for repair/replacement of signs amounting to approximately €320,000 including VAT. As the technician at the Public Works Department of Larnaka, Eleni Xypsiti, told "F", the cost of replacing and repairing the signs on the road from Larnaka airport to Ayia Napa may cost double the amount. Besides, there is also the road between Nisos and Larnaka, for which the amount required is also considered quite high.
Ms. Xypsiti also said that it has been observed that a large number of "road signs and direction" are damaged, altered and slogans are written, resulting in difficulty in driving and directing drivers. Moreover, in many cases speed limits are not perceived, resulting in violations.
In an information letter from the Department of Public Works, it is stated that the competent office often receives complaints about vandalism of traffic signs and the responsible sign crew carries out frequent cleaning with special sprays that incur a lot of road maintenance costs.
The letter notes that cleaning the signs reduces the degree of reflectivity, especially at night. It is also recorded that with repeated cleanings the reflex is greatly reduced.
The letter adds that at the Kalo Chorio roundabout, fans of various teams repeatedly destroy road signs. Specifically, on April 24, 2023, after the necessary traffic arrangements and the provision of policing, the roundabout was thoroughly cleaned, the wall was repainted white-black, the horizontal signage was redrawn, as well as new signs were placed after the previous ones had been completely destroyed.
The aforementioned actions were carried out, according to the Department of Public Works, by three crews of the Larnaka district office office. The works concerned the horizontal marking, the vertical marking and in their frame signs were cleaned, while the kerb was painted, where necessary.
On May 18, 2023, that is, less than a month after the cleanup, there was another vandalism of those that had been repaired on April 24. The Department also attached relevant photographic material, which depicted the extent of the damage. Finally, it is noted that all district offices replace the signs with new signs that have digital printing with anti-graffiti membrane to avoid damaging their surface during cleaning.
Moreover, the executive engineer / transportation engineer at the Traffic Studies Branch of the Department of Public Works, Alexis Avgoustis, said that in addition to the damage caused to signs by the method of writing slogans, there are also cases of damage caused by shotgun pellets.
He also said that from last September until May, 200 complaints were received through an application created by the University of Cyprus, which users download to their mobile phone and inform those involved, depending on the service responsible for monitoring and repairing the damage, whether it is signs or a problem on the sidewalks and so on.
INTERVENTION
They don't respect anyone
It is also a matter of education. It is also a matter of family. Of course, one does not expect people who do not even respect the efforts of their parents who will pay (along with all other citizens) the cost of replacing or repairing the signs, to respect public property. I am referring to parents, because I do not think that the vandals themselves work and pay taxes, otherwise they would respect their own efforts.
They also do not respect their fellow man, the Cypriot, the foreign tourist, anyone who wants to know how much distance is left to his destination and where he is heading. They don't respect anyone.
