Filenews 15 May 2025 - by Vasos Vassiliou
Many millions may be collected from the operation of fixed cameras on the roads, but the state does not have the money to effectively warn drivers with appropriate signage. In fact, he placed this responsibility on the Municipalities by giving them crumbs for the maintenance of hundreds of kilometers of roads, including the markings on the road network.
Today, the situation on the spot is simply "not visible", obviously due to the fact that thousands of vehicles pass over the road markings every day, alteration of the lines or even detachment of the paint is observed and in the end they are marks only by name. This is almost certain to confuse drivers and especially those who are forced to stop when the red light comes on do not have a clear picture. Even more difficult is the situation on site in the evenings when the light is limited in relation to the daylight. As for drivers who simply pass through traffic lights with the traffic light emitting a green light, road signage matters less or not at all, since many times their eyes are fixed on the traffic light and the camera rather than on the road.
When the issue of road signage arose at the points where there are fixed cameras, the Ministry of Transport responded through the Department of Public Works and relevant works did indeed begin about a year ago, specifically around May 21, 2024.
As it was officially announced, "the works for the erection of warning horizontal signs on the road surface, and the placement of vertical signs with signs at the light-controlled junctions and on the road sections where a photolabelling system has been installed" (cameras) had begun.
Recognizing the role of signage, the Ministry of Transport had issued a statement stating that "the aim is to upgrade and strengthen the existing signage for further information to the public". It was clarified, however, that "the signage has a purely warning character and does not negate the road surface markings, as defined according to the Road Traffic Code, e.g. at light-controlled junctions, the alt/stop line indicating a mandatory stop".
In order to find out what is happening with the signage, we went to three points in Nicosia where there is a photo-tagging system installed, namely at Strovolos Avenue (near the Ministry of Defence), at the intersection of Griva Digeni and Demosthenes Severis (HONDA lights) and at the traffic lights located outside the Central Police Station of Nicosia (former Lycabettus) at the intersection of Makariou and Spyros Kyprianou Avenues (formerly Santa Rosa).
As one can see from the photographs, the marking suffers at all three points and in fact, from the result, it seems that the alteration occurs a few months after the marking, if we take into account that not even a year has passed since the marking was done at the first points.
Taking into account the fact that the Ministry of Transport itself has recognized the use of signage on the road surface, it is obvious that the current situation does not serve the purpose for which the relevant regulation was promoted. As drivers we spoke to observe, what happens in practice is that many people ask for a red light to come on before approaching the camera, so that they can be sure that they will pass with a green light when it comes on. They also notice that in several cases, instead of decreasing, the queues increase because each driver moves many times slower than allowed (in order to be ready) while there is no shortage of recriminations between drivers, especially when the person in front moves with the intention of avoiding the complaint himself.
The director of the Union of Municipalities, Mr. Michalis Socratous, with whom we contacted, told "F" that according to the legislation, the management of the roads has been assigned to the Local Government, although as he noted, the distribution of funds among the Municipalities is pending, something that will be clarified in the process.
It is recalled that initially the Government assigned the responsibility for the maintenance of the roads to the Municipalities, with its assistance limited to €3 million. per year, for all roads. This provoked the reaction of the Union of Municipalities and finally an agreement was reached to increase the amount to €15 million but with proof of the actual costs.
As the director of the Union of Municipalities explained, the priorities will be evaluated, depending on the situation in the road network, and the Municipalities will act accordingly. This indicates that the markings at the points where the cameras are located may be delayed.
