Our View: Nicosia traffic chaos for a private event unjustifiable

Unprecedented traffic jams and bottlenecks were caused in the already congested streets of central Nicosia during the morning rush hour on Wednesday. The reason was that the short stretch of road running in front of the Cyprus museum, from the traffic lights to the roundabout with the statue, had been closed from 7am, because there would be an all-day event – the Digital Agenda Cyprus Summit – in the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.

The traffic chaos in the centre of the capital lasted for hours, even though police were put at junctions to help the traffic flow. Even deputies who had to get to the legislature expressed their exasperation. Diko deputy, Pavlos Mylonas said: “It is inconceivable for a European state, if we are a European state, for any private individual to decide to hold a function and be able to close the roads at 8 in the morning.”

According to a police spokesman, contacted by the Cyprus Mail, no roads had been closed and that the tailbacks had been caused by the higher than usual number of cars going to the event. The fact is that the above-mentioned road was closed from 7am. If the police had not been informed about the closure of the road, as Mylonas implied, and the organiser took the decision there is a big issue. Perhaps Nicosia municipality gave permission for the road closure without informing the police about it.

One justification for the closure was that the president would be attending the event in the morning – he was scheduled to speak at 9.15am, but why was the road closed two hours earlier? No road is closed for hours because the president is arriving at an event. Perhaps this would happen for 10 minutes before his arrival, but two hours? The banner at the entrance of the road was promoting the “Cyprus Cocktail Festival” which was certainly no reason to close a road and cause traffic gridlock.

What happened was unacceptable by any standards. Who gave permission to close one of the main roads entering and leaving the centre of Nicosia during rush hour? Was it the police, the municipality, or the organiser of the Cocktail Festival? In a properly run city either the police or the municipality would not have allowed the closing of the road, especially during rush hour, for an event organised by a private entity. Why did a key access road have to be closed? Surely the organisers could have used the municipal park, adjacent to the municipal theatre if an outdoor space was needed for their event.

Does Nicosia municipality have a policy for closing down roads for private events or is the decision at the mayor’s discretion? Are there any criteria for closing a road and giving it for private use? Are police consulted about the consequences the closure would have on traffic? This is an opportunity for the municipality, in cooperation with the police to set some rules about closing roads, because what happened on Wednesday was unacceptable.