€15.6m avenue plan sparks backlash over western Nicosia developments

Local developmentsNicosiaroad worksTop News €15.6m avenue plan sparks backlash over western Nicosia developments €15.6m Avenue Plan Sparks Backlash Over Western Nicosia Developments Relevant News €15.6m avenue plan sparks backlash over western Nicosia developments 10 September 2026 Cyprus ready to host Israel-Lebanon trilateral if asked, sources say 10 September 2026 Queer Wave banners vandalised in Nicosia ahead of LGBTQIA+ film festival 10 September 2026 Ioanna Kyriakou 10 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Major developments planned for western Nicosia have raised concerns that residential neighbourhoods could face heavier through-traffic, with residents questioning proposed road projects while planning authorities insist traffic studies and conditions have been built into the plans. The issue was discussed by parliament’s Transport Committee, where residents raised objections to developments envisaged under the Local Plan and warned that proposed traffic arrangements could turn entire neighbourhoods into routes for passing vehicles. Local authorities and planning officials said traffic conditions had been imposed and relevant studies carried out for the developments. Louiza Mavrommatis, representing the Initiative for a Humane Engomi, criticised plans she said were being promoted by the Transport Ministry and the Town Planning Department, focusing in particular on a proposed new road called Makedonias Avenue. According to Mavrommatis, the avenue would be built about 500 metres from the existing Lefkotheou Avenue and run through eastern Makedonitissa, 28 October Avenue, Montparnasse and Parisinos, as well as by the Hilton hotel. She argued that the proposal was inconsistent with the principles of Nicosia’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan and originated from planning carried out in the 1970s, when the area was still used for livestock farming rather than housing. Mavrommatis said the estimated cost of the 1.2-kilometre Makedonias Avenue was €15.6 million and could exceed €25 million once the necessary compulsory acquisitions were included. She warned that the proposed road network would turn Engomi into a passage for traffic arriving from the west. Mavrommatis said the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan was a European planning framework that prioritised pedestrians first, followed by cyclists and buses. She argued that the projects being promoted by the Town Planning Department and Transport Ministry instead primarily facilitated car use through new roads and the widening of existing ones. ALMA MP Irene Charalambidou, who tabled the issue for discussion, also questioned the scale of the developments and the way decisions were being taken. She said responses she had received from the relevant ministries indicated that permits had been granted and towers, hotels and hospitals approved in the area without road planning being in place. A representative of the Town Planning Department disputed that account, saying extensive traffic conditions had been imposed. The official said a central requirement of the master plan was for the road network to be designed alongside the development of individual plots. A traffic study covering all traffic loads was carried out during consideration of the master plan application, the representative said. Further traffic studies could also be requested for individual developments, with additional measures introduced to mitigate problems that may arise. The department described the proposal as a “friendly design”, with wide green strips, cycle lanes and broad pavements and no central reservation. Nicosia Mayor Charalambos Prountzos said strong residential growth around western Nicosia was increasing traffic on several main roads. He said the municipality and the Town Planning Department had prioritised the widening and improvement of Lefkotheou Avenue, both for flood-protection works and to address traffic pressures. Prountzos said no four-lane road, or road connecting with Iroon Avenue, had been presented to the local authorities and made clear that the municipality did not want Makedonias Avenue linked to Iroon Avenue. “We do not want a four-lane road at any point because the main east-west connection is Lefkotheou Avenue,” he said, adding that widening Lefkotheou could serve that role because of its existing connection with Iroon Avenue. Charalambidou also asked whether Kykkos Monastery would be prepared to provide land to allow roads to be widened. The monastery’s representative, Yiannis Karekklas, said it was proceeding on the basis of permits and working with teams that had carried out traffic studies. He said millions of euros had already been spent on the work. “We operate on the basis of the law and regulations. The Holy Monastery of Kykkos never acts illegally and, most importantly, is never against residents,” he said. Responding to Charalambidou’s references to planned towers, Karekklas said developments exceeding eight storeys were not permitted. He also said development permits were granted through a long-list procedure and in accordance with the law. “The monastery does not want to alienate itself from its land. It wants to receive income so that it can carry out its social and national work,” he said. 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