Transport Minister Alexis Vafeadis has said that consultations between Limassol Municipality and the Public Works Department have produced “middle-ground solutions” over the bollards installed around the city as part of its new cycle lanes, with some sections now set to be removed and replaced with alternative road-safety measures.
Vafeadis said the Public Works Department’s proposal, which is now awaiting a response from the municipal council, would see specific stretches of bollards taken out and substituted with other safety measures.
“A consultation took place between Limassol Municipality and the Public Works Department, and I made sure that senior engineers, chief executive engineers, came to see the problem up close, to understand it and see what the real issue is, so that they can provide solutions that meet both road-safety needs and the public’s concerns,” he said.
“For us, both are very important, and I believe that middle-ground solutions have been found,” he added, noting that bollards would be removed and replaced “so that we achieve this dual objective.”
On the broader question of road safety, the minister said police guidance on such matters could not simply be overridden.
“The Police indicate what is required and we cannot refuse, but that does not mean we cannot adjust any action so that it satisfies both the public’s needs and the needs of sustainable urban mobility,” he said.
Asked when residents could expect to see changes on the ground, Mr Vafeadis said the matter now rested with the municipal council. “Right now we are waiting for the Municipal Council’s approval of what the Public Works Department has proposed. Once we have that, the works will proceed and changes will follow,” he said.
“A sustainable urban Limassol is something that will benefit our children and future generations, and we must gradually move in that direction, with the cooperation of the public, without reducing people’s quality of life.”
