Filenews 17 February 2025 - by Angelos Nicolaou
A high level of ambition for the implementation of sustainable urban mobility measures, which includes, among others, additional projects for the promotion of public transport, parking management and cycling infrastructure, is included in the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Report (SEIA) for the Pafos Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP).
This includes interventions such as new road infrastructure projects (avenues, bypasses, new road connections and reconstruction of others), regeneration of historical and commercial centres (Anavargo, Paphos centre, Theoskepasti Square, old Police Station), new parking spaces (eastern coastal front Germanina – Geroskipou), speed limit reduction Paphos, Geroskipou, Chloraka, Emba, etc.), controlled parking areas (municipalities of Pafos and Geroskipou), bicycle paths (Emba, Germanina, archaeological walk), public transport (new network and park & ride in the summer season) and pedestrian infrastructure.
The bet for the success of SUMP Pafos is also based on the central message given through the whole effort entitled "We change our transportation! We are changing Paphos."
According to the officials of the Department of Public Works, the main objective of SUMP is to improve accessibility and quality of life, achieving a shift towards the balanced and integrated development of all means of transport, guided by a long-term vision with specific quantitative targets and a clear implementation plan.
The study assesses three alternative scenarios:
>> The "Scenario 0: Reference Scenario" which includes all projects/developments that are in the process of tendering or constructing or preparing construction plans until 2030.
>> "Scenario 1: Moderate Strategy Intermediate Scenario" expresses an average level of ambition for the implementation of sustainable urban mobility measures. It includes, among other things, projects to promote cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.
>> "Scenario 2: Ambitious Offensive Strategy Scenario" expresses a high level of ambition to implement sustainable urban mobility measures. It includes, among others, additional projects for the promotion of Public Transport, parking management and cycling infrastructure.
In order to select the best scenario, five high-level objectives were defined as criteria: (a) Economic Efficiency, (b) Accessibility and Social Inclusion, (c) Environmental sustainability, (d) Road Safety and (e) Quality of Life. Based on the above, the process of benchmarking the alternative strategic scenarios against each other followed, with the application of multicriteria analysis. Given the results of the analysis.
The study shows that Strategic Scenario 2 responds much better than the other scenarios and easily serves the five high-level objectives and therefore this Scenario is eligible for implementation.
SUMP aims to address the problems caused by the excessive use of private vehicles and promote sustainable forms of transport, such as walking, cycling and public transport.
The study also records the current situation in Cyprus, which is disappointing. The situation in Cyprus can generally be characterized by extremely high use of private vehicles. This highlights the extent of the challenges expected during the development of the Pafos SUMP. The use of the car is the usual choice for trips in the city and in Cyprus as a whole. The percentage of trips that do not include car use, such as walking, cycling and public transport, has very low levels, which is attributed not only to the culture and behaviour of commuters, but also to the low supply of public transport.
In Paphos, the use of public transport is low (about 5%, including the share of school buses) and the same applies to cycling (less than 2%) and walking (about 6%), while car use currently exceeds 85% of trips and has consequences on travel costs, air pollution, noise, road accidents, the problems caused by illegal parking and the overall deterioration of the quality of the urban environment. It is pointed out that the development of additional road infrastructure would be neither possible (due to the structure and form of the urban environment) nor beneficial (as this means increasing all the negative effects of private cars, without really solving any problems), at least not as a main solution to the city's transport problems.
Feeling of insecurity and difficulties for pedestrians
The study notes the results of an analysis of the current mobility situation and problems related to socio-economic and demographic characteristics. Among other things, negative impacts on the local economy are recorded, through increased needs for the construction and maintenance of the road network, due to the absolute dominance of the private car combined with the low levels of use of public transport, cycling and walking. In Paphos alone, it is estimated that there are 600-700 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants.
Furthermore, problems related to spatial and urban characteristics are recorded. It is noted that a balanced and sustainable development, as well as urban rehabilitation of the wider area of Pafos, has not yet been achieved, as these are objectives of the Local Plan, a goal that is expected to be implemented gradually.
The main means of transport is the private passenger vehicle, with 72.2% as a driver and 15.1% as a passenger. The movements recorded (in the household travel survey) are mainly frequent movements, with 60% of them taking place more than 4 times a week. Also, the largest percentage of trips originate/to the Municipality of Pafos (53.8%) and the Municipality of Geroskipou (10.1%). Chloraka (6.2%), the Municipality of Pegeia (5.3%) and Emba (4.4%) also have a significant share.
Also, the phenomenon of illegal parking is observed at a high rate along roads where the measure of controlled parking is not applied, resulting in problems in the movement and safety of passing pedestrians and vehicles. A parameter for the creation of illegal parking in the wider area of the city center is poor policing.
There is a lack of pedestrian crossings in the internal network of the area, in the urban neighbourhoods of the city in general, and especially in the perimeter and the network of access to sensitive land uses, such as schools and school complexes, which significantly limits the ease and safety of walking.
The feeling of insecurity and inconvenience of walking due to the reduced supply of effective width on sidewalks forces pedestrians to periodically use the sidewalks and walk on the pavement in many cases.
In the centre of Pafos Municipality, the existence of cycle paths is limited or non-existent. In addition, it is observed: Absence of appropriate infrastructure that would encourage its use, such as specially designed parking spaces, existence of artificial or natural barriers that hinder the movement of bicycles and limit the actual width of sidewalks (e.g. license plates, shop equipment, kiosks or other facilities). It is recommended to reduce obstacles or place them in places where the movement of bicycles is not obstructed.
From 2026 onwards, there is a risk that the Cypriot government will be led to the decision to impose a special tax on fuel and road tax, since it will have to buy emission allowances at the expense of the state budget. For Cyprus, a 32% reduction in pollutants is foreseen, of which about half comes from transport.
