Driving in Cyprus

THE CONSTRUCTION of a pedestrian road and cycle lane along the Pedieos river will begin at the end of the summer, the Nicosia Municipality announced yesterday.

The project aims to continue the pedestrian road of Lakatamia and Strovolos, creating a link between the Municipalities. The route will start from the bridge close to the Presidential Palace stretching 2.6km within the confines of the Nicosia Municipality. It will pass through the Presidential Palace Park and the Red Cross road, through the old part of Ayioi Omologites and will go under the bridge at Grivas Dighenis Avenue, to end at the Ministry of Health, where the Prodromos and Metochi Avenues meet.

The Mayor of Nicosia, Eleni Mavrou, in a press conference yesterday emphasised how the Pedieos river along with the Athalassa National Park are the two major green hubs of Nicosia. “The river bed is a priceless treasure of our city,” Mavrou said. “The area of the river will be transformed into a welcome area for Nicosia’s residents, where children and adults can use the promenade for walks, entertainment, and sports,” she added.

The Mayor emphasised how retaining the natural environment and keeping the ecosystem of the river intact were the main priorities of the project’s planners.

“It is an environmental promenade and cycle lane that we have designed. It aims to highlight the natural environment, and we have planned it in such a way so that not one single tree will have to be cut for the needs of construction,” said Christodoulos Ktorides, Director of the Department of Town Planning and Housing.

The project’s designs include the construction of a promenade for pedestrians and cyclists, the creation of wooden bridges that will connect the two sides of the river, the formation of play spaces for children and resting stops and the equipping of the promenade with special lighting. The plans also accommodate for the easy access of pedestrians from the street to the river and vice versa.

“With the completion of this project, Nicosia residents will have a new and important space for recreation and entertainment, and the promenade will also be a new, alternative route for circulating around the city,” Mavrou said.

The project is estimated to cost around €2m euro and will be a joint construction venture of P. A. Cyteco Ltd and NEMESIS Contractors. It will be completed at the end of next summer.

via New cycle lane along Pedieos – Cyprus Mail.

NICOSIA’S bike sharing system will get off the ground in the early autumn, aiming to create a new cycling culture among students and to connect the capital’s five universities with dedicated cycling routes and cycle-lanes as soon as possible, Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou said yesterday.

Mavrou stressed that promoting a policy of sustainable mobility is not a matter of theory, but a completely practical issue, which is why Nicosia Municipality has been working closely with five other local authorities – Aglandjia, Strovolos, Dhali, Ayios Dometios and Latsia – to come up with policies and co-ordinated measures that will encourage a change of public attitude towards cycling.

The third generation bike sharing scheme was incorporated into Nicosia Municipality’s plans to comprehensively upgrade its roads, pavements and drains infrastructure, scheduled to be completed in mid-2013.

The other municipalities of greater Nicosia took up the initiative to create a common bike sharing scheme that will allow users to pick up a bike in one municipality and drop it off in another.

The commercial contract to supply the six municipalities with 285 public bicycles and 24 docking stations was signed at the end of May.

Nicosia municipality will have 100 bikes available at five stations, while Strovolos will offer 80 bikes at eight stations. Aglandjia will have 50 bikes at four stations, Dhali 20 bikes at three stations, Ayios Dometios 20 bikes at two stations, and Latsia will offer 15 bikes at two stations.

Each municipality will contribute €475 per high-tech bike and €19,000 per station, and will share the €35,000 cost of the software, €8,000 for the scheme’s website, €34,800 for the tracking system and the €140,000 contractual maintenance costs over four years.

The Communications Ministry is said to have pledged a contribution towards the start-up costs, but the cost of operating and expanding the system is planned to be covered by operating revenues and advertising.

Although a final decision has not been taken on the cost of hire, the aim is to offer free use for the first two hours, and then charge a small fee – perhaps one or two euro per hour – for the rest of the day.

Riders will need a credit card or a university student ID to access the bikes. Inserting the card will provide the user with a key and a unique electronic number. Once the bike is dropped off and the key inserted to secure it, any charges due will be calculated and billed by the system.

SIDEBAR

Three generations of bike-sharing systems

First generation: Perhaps the most famous example of the no-tech, unstructured approach to bike sharing was implemented in Amsterdam in the late 1960s. Re-conditioned bikes were painted white and placed throughout city for free use with no restrictions. Most of the bikes were quickly stolen or damaged, but the idea made a strong impact.

Second generation: A low-tech, moderately expensive approach has been tried in Copenhagen, Helsinki and Toronto, involving a singular bike design to deter theft. Bikes are unlocked through a coin-deposit lock, but then they are not tracked.

Third generation: This high-tech, expensive solution involves using smart-card, credit card or mobile phone technology for quick access and remote tracking of the bike fleet. Systems have been successfully introduced in Paris, Brussels and Barcelona.

via Nicosia bike scheme to be ready by autumn – Cyprus Mail.

NICOSIA’S five main universities are to be connected to the city centre by dedicated cycle lanes, according to plans currently being moved forward by the Ministry of Communications and Works.

via Universities to be linked to centre by cycle lanes – Cyprus Mail.