“2+ Lane” will cause chaos
Communications and Works Minister Nicos Nicolaides must either be illiterate (which we are sure he is not) or just plain stupid. There can be no other explanation for his ridiculous and money-squandering plan (42 mln from the Structural Fund) to introduce the “2+ lane” scheme on Nicosia’s main artery.
The two-month pilot scheme starts on June 29 and will run until August 28. It will lead to total chaos from the busy Limassol Avenue leading through to Makarios Avenue and up to the Lykavitos police station.
The plan, allegedly to reduce traffic by limiting the slow left lane to cars containing two or more passengers, taxis and buses, while forcing the rest of the 98% of drivers into a bottleneck in the right lane, is the shoddiest and most amateur scheme ever conceived by the government.
By not seeing the stupidity of it all, it makes the minister an accomplice to the brainless plan devised by the civil servants who came up with the idea in the first place.
The plan has no leg to stand on and will make Nicolaides’ former colleagues at the EAC central offices fume from anger because of the traffic jams and will probably produce more steam than Vassiliko. The whole plan does not address the issue of inefficient public transport and incentives to encourage motorists to consider carpooling. It does not deal with pollution from car emissions (it will just make it worse) and will further aggravate the already high-tempered community of motorists.
The “2+” lane scheme may have been implemented with success in major cities such as Los Angeles, but there, the authorities had vast expanses available to them and allocated at least one of five lanes going in any direction for this purpose. Nicosia cannot sacrifice one of only two lanes just to satisfy the whims of a smart-assed planner, with the full collusion of the responsible minister.
For his pilot scheme, why was Nicolaides afraid to choose a road that is most busy with civil servants, who are the main cause of the capital’s traffic problem in the first place?
By the Ministry’s own admission, Nicosia suffers from an “inadequate bus service” with passenger traffic reduced to a quarter from 1980 to 2004, while “bus lanes have not been implemented due to the fear of increasing traffic congestion.” (Duhh!)
A report in 2001 had proposed “staggering of starting business and school hours and school bussing to reduce the sharp morning traffic peak (7 to 8 a.m.).” It also proposed a restructuring of the bus network and a traffic master plan with main roads converted to one-way streets, with implementation of some bus lanes. “Only a few of those proposals were implemented, mainly due to financial constraints,” the report had said.
Past studies, that remain partially implemented, have focused on enhancing public transport and making it more efficient and affordable, while establishing a comprehensive parking policy, pedestrian footways and cycleways, and easy transfer from the private car to public transport.
Mr Minister. There is still time. Reconsider the ludicrous “2+ lane” plan or bow out gracefully and resign ahead of the most embarrassing episode of your short-lived political career.
