Members of the House Transport Committee called on Thursday for immediate corrective measures in the implementation of Limassol’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, known as SUMP.
MPs acknowledged the need for sustainable transport policies but raised concerns over the impact of individual projects on traffic flow, road safety, residents and businesses. Several called for completed interventions to be reviewed and redesigned where necessary.
DISY calls for practical improvements
DISY MP Giorgos Karaiskakis said Limassol needed modern and sustainable transport solutions, but warned that no project could succeed if it made residents’ daily lives more difficult.
Following objections from residents and proposals submitted by Limassol Municipality, the Public Works Department is preparing corrective changes, he said. The proposals were due to be examined by the Limassol Municipal Council on Thursday.
Karaiskakis added that work should continue to ensure the project retained its European funding.
“Our priority is clear: a safer, more functional and more people-friendly Limassol,” he said, adding that DISY supported both the modernisation of the city and changes that would make the plan more effective and accessible to residents.
AKEL seeks technical review and consultation
AKEL MP Efraim Christou said the transition towards a modern, sustainable and people-centred transport model was essential for Limassol.
However, he said the implementation of certain projects had raised legitimate concerns about functionality, safety, appearance and their effect on residents’ daily lives.
Christou said interventions should not be implemented in isolation or without adequate technical documentation, planning and public consultation.
“The success of the SUMP will not be judged by the speed of its implementation, but by whether it genuinely improves quality of life and mobility in the city,” he said.
AKEL called for an evaluation of completed interventions, stronger consultation with local communities, Limassol Municipality and other stakeholders, and a technical review of measures where problems had been identified.
Christou also called for a comprehensive approach combining public transport, micromobility, road safety and effective traffic management.
ELAM criticises delays and centralised planning
ELAM MP Evgenios Hamboullas said the mobility plan was prepared and approved in 2019, but its implementation only began in 2024.
He acknowledged that planning could not always anticipate problems that emerged during construction. However, he said complaints and concerns raised by Limassol residents should be taken into account.
Hamboullas accused ministry officials based in Nicosia of ignoring local authorities and treating Limassol as a “poor relation”.
He argued that many of the city’s current traffic and development problems were linked to delays in preparing a new Limassol Local Plan. The previous plan should have been completed in 2019, he said, while instructions to begin drafting a new one were only issued by the Interior Ministry around 15 days ago.
Hamboullas alleged that the delay had been deliberate and suggested that some officials had sought to control the city’s development while reducing the powers of local government.
He warned that ELAM would oppose the authorities unless they moved quickly to address problems affecting Limassol city and district.
DIKO highlights impact on residents and businesses
DIKO MP Panikos Leonidou praised the work of Limassol Mayor Yiannis Armeftis, but noted that the mayor was required to implement programmes and decisions adopted by previous mayors and municipal councils.
Leonidou said the situation had become a serious problem for most residents.
“It is not only the bollards and it is not only the wider traffic chaos,” he said, calling for a reassessment of the overall design and the work already completed.
He said some residents and businesses had suffered significant losses as a result of the plan’s implementation, despite having no role in the relevant decisions.
Leonidou called on the mayor and the Public Works Department to identify measures that could be reversed immediately, allowing the project to progress more smoothly while gradually encouraging a culture of sustainable mobility.
ALMA raises road safety concerns
ALMA Movement MP Irini Charalambidou said Limassol was experiencing severe traffic disruption and described a road layout that forced drivers towards Agia Fyla instead of a roundabout in the opposite direction.
She said drivers had no nearby location to turn around and were being forced to make U-turns in fields.
Charalambidou criticised what she described as careless planning across the Limassol district and warned that road users were being placed at risk.
She said the responsible authority had acknowledged during the committee meeting that visibility was particularly limited for drivers attempting to turn right in the area.
The current design could not guarantee the safety of drivers and residents and should be reassessed, she said.
Direct Democracy calls for suspension of works
Direct Democracy MP Dimitris Souglis called for the works to be suspended and for the entire mobility plan to be redesigned.
He criticised the placement of cycle lanes in front of homes and garages and said Limassol had become filled with bollards.
Souglis said the party had raised the need for a redesign with the mayor and other authorities, claiming there had been poor coordination between the Public Works Department and Limassol Municipality.
He called for all unnecessary bollards to be removed, arguing that Limassol’s unregulated development meant the city was not currently able to accommodate projects of this kind in their present form.
Source: CNA
