A study for the upgrading of the road Kanto - Omodos, which leads to the villages of Limassol district, requested by the Transport Committee of the Parliament, from the competent state agencies. A two-month timetable was set for the presentation of the study, at which time a new meeting of the Committee will be scheduled.
The issue was raised as a motion by MPs Marios Karoyan, Marinos Mousioutta, Alekos Tryfonidis and Michalis Yiakoumis and the meeting was attended by representatives of the Public Works Department, the Police and presidents of the communities the road crosses.
As the Chairman of the Committee and PPP MP Marinos Mousiuttas said at the meeting, this is the road where the deadliest accident in the Republic of Cyprus so far has been recorded. The Committee Chairman added that "it is a road of primary importance, since it is used by residents of the Limassol mountainous area, as well as by thousands of tourists every day, since the Omodos alone attracts 1.5 million visitors a year."
AKEL MP Giannakis Gavriel stressed that for any solution to emerge, a political decision is needed to cover the cost of the project. "In the 2022 budget there is not a single euro for this road. The government should inform us whether there can be a supplementary budget or whether we will end up with patches again, as we have so far," he concluded.
AKEL MP Nikos Ketteros also took part in the debate, noting that "it is provocative that we hear announcements about incentives for young people to live in mountainous areas, but not only are the roads not easily accessible, but they also raise security issues". He pointed out that 19 people died on this road between 2005 and 2021 and wondered whether the relevant authorities were concerned about this number.
DIKO MP, Christos Orphanides, also raised concerns about covering the cost of such a project, saying that "without a supplementary budget, any discussion is pointless."
MP of the Movement of Ecologists, Stavros Papadouris, said that "it is not only a matter of budget" to carry out projects, but also of will. He added that this road is a project that will also contribute to the development of tourism in Krasochoria.
On behalf of the Department of Public Works, Charalambos Kais, the construction of three bays for heavy vehicles along this road has been approved, in order to facilitate the passage of smaller vehicles. "A study and cost estimate is in place for the bays, we have received approvals and two of them are expected to be implemented in 2022," he said. He added that a recommendation was also made to intensify policing to deal with high speeds. As for the proposal to create a third lane, following the example of the Limassol-Saitta road, he said the presence of the third lane created other problems and was not recommended as a measure.
The police spokesman said that by taking some measures, fatal accidents on this road were reduced from three in 2019 to two in 2020 and one in 2021. He attributed most of the accidents to the high speeds observed due to the steep gradient of the road and said that the new light detection system with mobile cameras would soon be utilized. "There will be 1-2 such devices on this road every day to check the speed limits," he said, noting that there is already a complaint about this road from the camera used in Limassol district.
Objections were raised on behalf of the Union of Communities and the Chairmen of the Community Councils of the area, who participated in the discussion, making a request for assisting traffic through a third lane. They pointed out that the frequent presence of trucks on the road leads to attempts to overtake, which becomes dangerous due to the slope of the road.
The President of the Union of Krasochoria, Andreas Savva, said that the request for the construction of a third lane is based on a study by a group of professors from Greece on development plans for mountain communities, and stressed that according to this study, the distance between Limassol and Omodos could be covered in 20 minutes.
At the close of the meeting, the relevant state departments undertook to examine the options that can be implemented on the road in question and come back with a study before the Commission within two months.
Source: CNA
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