Filenews 11 June 2025 - by Vasos Vassiliou
Should Makariou Avenue be opened for all vehicles or not? The issue is not whether Makariou will open, but mainly whether the city of Nicosia will close. A city that, as everyone recognizes, is struggling to survive, especially in the historic center, where the population has decreased in recent years from 11,000 to 3,000, as reported by the Mayor of Nicosia, Charalambos Prountzos.
The issue of the opening of Makarios is up to the Chief of Police, who has the last word, although many believe that he probably prefers to follow the recommendation of the Traffic Studies Body, which meets in the next ten days. Already the Municipal Council (whose majority voted in favour of the use of Makarios by all vehicles and not only by buses, taxis and the cars of the residents and workers of the area), ratified the minutes and everything took its course.
ETEK made an effort to reconcile views by organizing a workshop, in the framework of which the involved state services as well as experts and affected shopkeepers, developed their positions, with the differences remaining. ETEK considers that some more time should be given until a final decision is taken. In this direction, the president of ETEK, Konstantinos Konstantis, appealed to the Nicosia Municipal Council to put its decision on the back burner in order to give time to find common ground among all those involved, so that it would be easier to implement any decision taken.
The president of ETEK proposed a series of incentives and disincentives, with the aim of exploiting properties that are dormant, creating new developments and businesses and facilitating the change of uses, which better fit with today's reality. One of the disincentives he proposed is the taxation of dormant land, a measure with which Mayor Charalambos Prountzos agrees.
As he explained, the taxation of dormant assets (in combination with other measures) will help to reduce rents, so that the city becomes more attractive, both for citizens and businesses.
The Municipal Engineer of the Municipality of Nicosia, Mrs. Koula Ioannou, referred to the history of the projects that were implemented in the center and which had been deemed necessary due to the weakening of the commercial character of the area, something to which the operation of the malls in the surroundings of the city also contributed.
As he explained, before the implementation of the projects, there were many closed shops and in general the situation was disheartening.
As he said, the cost of Phase A and B of the project (Makariou, Stasikratous, etc.) was €22 million, while the cost of Phase C (Evagorou) is estimated at €4.8 million.
He also mentioned that the project included one-way construction of key road axes to ensure space for bus lanes and the promotion of environmentally friendly public transport. In this context, the idea of the tram was also promoted. As he said, in this context, in 2015 a techno-economic study was prepared by the Municipality of Nicosia, confirming its viability.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Transport, Mrs. Evi Anagiotou said that the project has been completed and we can all agree that we are in a new era for Makariou. Mrs. Anagiotou also raised the following concerns:
"The question is what we want for Makariou. Do we want cars? Do we want the noise? Do we want a reduction in road safety? Do we want the degradation of the urban landscape? Do we want to increase traffic? We want to upgrade the quality of life»;
He also pointed out that the Municipality's decision had to be preceded by traffic studies and all parameters examined, before the decision was made for all vehicles to access Makariou.
Upgraded Product
We must all agree that with the implementation of the projects there is an upgraded product, from services to public transport, with a parallel increase in pedestrians, bicycles, residential units, etc., added Mrs. Anagiotou.
It is noted that, as reported by the Municipal Engineer, three and a half million pedestrian movements have been recorded in a year.
A representative of Makariou's businesses described the decision of the Municipal Council as correct, although he did not fail to observe that it is the same Council, which five years ago imposed the exclusion of businesses, in the sense that Makariou became a transport bridge for incoming and outgoing buses, leading at the same time to the interruption of the accessibility of the private car.
