CYPRUS: Limassol Mayor orders probe into \’shameful\’ wonky bike lane botch

Limassol Mayor Nicos Nicolaides has ordered a probe into why a bicycle path was crooked and shoddily painted around parked cars and other obstacles.

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 The bike lane was painted partly on the road as the people tasked with laying the path, painted around any obstacle in their way instead of going in a straight line.

Nicolaides said the probe into what he called a ‘shameful embarrassment’ will soon be completed with the municipality deciding on next steps.

The municipality was ridiculed after photos of a meandering snake-like bike lane showed it would be impossible to navigate as it crisscrossed roads blocked by parked cars.

Photos showed the so-called cycle path suddenly veering into the road.

The mayor, on CyBC TV, acknowledged that the municipality had become a source of derision.

He said the legal processes were not followed correctly, and the council did not pass a decision for the bicycle path’s construction, nor did it have the proper licensing from the public works department.

“The original plans [for the path] were not like this,” said Nicolaides, adding that the path was meant to be constructed behind Limassol Franklin Roosevelt Avenue.

He said the contractor had been given a down payment for the project, however, once the probe is completed, the municipality is to decide on the type of action to be taken.

The bicycle path in the area of Omonia Street is supposed to connect the Limassol Marina with the western area of the town up to the new port.

The lane’s construction is EU-funded and was meant to provide a link to other areas in Limassol.