Minister says widening of road to Lapta will be done "soon"

[iancrumpy]

The Minister of Transport, Tolga Atakan, held a meeting (see photo below) in Alsancak today with various "officials" and residents, to say that the said road will "soon" be completed up to Lapta. It seems the main purpose of the meeting was to reassure those with businesses along the road that they would not be affected.

The headline was "Atakan rolled up his sleeves" , meaning, one presumes, they are serious about getting it done. However, the word used by Kıbrıs Gazetesi for when it would be completed was "yakında" which is as vague as writing "soon".

In any case, I thought it appropriate to post it, what with so many of you guys living in the Alsancak/Lapta area.

Source : https://www.kibrisgazetesi.com/kibris/a ... 70568.html

[13roman58]

Money long gone.

[paul90]

Thanks Iancrumpy.
I did a Google translate and it comes out like this:

Minister of Public Works and Transportation Tolga Atakan went to Alsancak at noon today and held a meeting with the authorities and the residents about Kyrenia West Ring Road which will be started to be built soon. During the meeting, while the drawings of the project from the point of Kyrenia Ring Road to Lapta were shared, it was stated that the tradesmen will not be victims during the works. During the meeting, participants exchanged views on the project that will accommodate pockets of bus stops and green spaces along the route. Mayor Fırat Ataser, regional shopkeepers and citizens attended the meeting in Alsancak, Ramadan Beysun, Director of the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, Serhan Kazmacı, Director of Highways Department and Jale Refik Rogers, Kyrenia MP of the People's Party.

[EnjoyingTheSun]

Incredibly stupid idea

[IPMAN]

Incredibly stupid idea

You’ve obviously never tried to get to Alsancak/ Lapta/Karsiyaka between 5pm & 7pm then?

[13roman58]

Incredibly stupid idea

You’ve obviously never tried to get to Alsancak/ Lapta/Karsiyaka between 5pm & 7pm then?

Or tried it get to Girne at 8.30 am from Lapta.

[EnjoyingTheSun]

Incredibly stupid idea

You’ve obviously never tried to get to Alsancak/ Lapta/Karsiyaka between 5pm & 7pm then?

Often actually and I guarantee this will not solve the problem.

How do they plan to widen the road? There are a few small stretches you could, but for the most part you will be putting a road at the doorway of shops and houses. That will bring its own problems with cars pulling out etc.

How often do you see that the hold up has been caused by an accident. Wider road will mean people driving faster. People driving faster will mean more accidents.

Road management with traffic lights would help but the big question is what percentage of cars are un-taxed or not roadworthy? Forty to fifty percent? Get them off the road and problem solved.

[mermaidsexist]

This will be a fantastic idea if implemented, however if they hope to do it soon?! i don't think soon would be ideal. without sounding negative, i know tourist numbers are down this year but to carry out major roadworks in summer will be ludicrous. for a start temperatures set to rise next month so no doubt the authorities will impose a strict ban on working between certain hours due to the heat and risk, only can hope they would work throughout the night but then no doubt that would ruffle a few feathers.

but we definitely need wider roads as stated above traffic is horrendous on a good day let alone when there has been an accident

[EnjoyingTheSun]

I know tourist numbers are down this year but to carry out major roadworks in summer will be ludicrous. for a start temperatures set to rise next month so no doubt the authorities will impose a strict ban on working between certain hours due to the heat and risk, only can hope they would work throughout the night but then no doubt that would ruffle a few feathers.

The roadworks will be another factor. They will limit access to the shops in the area. Many of these shops are struggling already, so a couple of months with heavily reduced revenue might well be the final blow for them.

[iancrumpy]

This will be a fantastic idea if implemented, however if they hope to do it soon, I don't think soon would be ideal ... to carry out major roadworks in summer will be ludicrous.

"Soon" in North Cyprus probably means anything up to three years for completion ... and they almost certainly wouldn't start until Autumn or even later.

[iancrumpy]

... they almost certainly wouldn't start until Autumn or even later.

My wife disagrees ... since the schools start back in Autumn, "the traffic is worse then". We'll see ...

The big question is what percentage of cars are un-taxed or not roadworthy? Forty to fifty percent? Get them off the road and problem solved.

Not having the figures to hand, I'm not going to say you're wrong, but between 40 and 50% does seem a tad on the high side ETS.

There is one other consideration - a TC friend of ours, living in Lapta and working in Lefkoşa, hits the traffic described by IPMAN in msg 5 every evening. She and many other commuters have little choice in the matter, but most of the contributors on this forum are more fortunate - they have the flexibility to drive along the road at different times.

As ETS points out, widening the road is not ideal, but at this stage, short of digging tunnels under the mountain, there is very little else that can be done to relieve traffic on the road.

[EnjoyingTheSun]

Not having the figures to hand, I'm not going to say you're wrong, but between 40 and 50% does seem a tad on the high side ETS.

The figures are an estimate but based on these threads, they could well be an under estimate.

http://www.kibkomnorthcyprusforum.com/v ... rs#p209582

http://www.kibkomnorthcyprusforum.com/v ... rs#p153333

As ETS points out, widening the road is not ideal, but at this stage, short of digging tunnels under the mountain, there is very little else that can be done to relieve traffic on the road.

We have a lot of cars with no tax and no MOT.
We also have a lot of drivers who can't drive.
Put either an unroadworthy vehicle or an unqualified driver with zero road awareness on the road and you will have more accidents.
Put both together and you have the high percentage of accidents TRNC does.

Building a road with more lanes where people can go faster works until lanes get closed off due to accidents. A virtual dual carriageway in an urban area can only go wrong.
Widening the road is a solution but it isn't the right solution and I'm confident that after everyone has put up with the aggravation of the work and watching their favourite shop close down they will find their journey takes exactly the same time it always did.

[laptatony]

Depends where you live, we live in Lapta and we go back out through Karsyaka past the reservoir and to Lefkosia that way, to Metahan is only 10 mins longer than the Girne way, so rather than be stuck in traffic for 30 mins. Just a thought

[iancrumpy]

We have a lot of cars with no tax and no MOT.

The "figures" used in those threads, that you pasted, are all speculation. I'm sure there is indeed a higher percentage (maybe even much higher %) of cars without MOT/tax here than certainly the UK, but we will have to agree to differ on this figure of 40-50% of yours.

We live in Lapta and we go back out through Karşıyaka, past the reservoir and to Lefkosia that way.

Certainly a good route to Metehan with the bypass from the Güzelyurt road. Unfortunately though it's now too built-up around Alsancak and Lapta to have a similar bypass there.

Widening the road is a solution but it isn't the right solution.

So, what would your solution be then EnjoyingTheSun?

[EnjoyingTheSun]

We have a lot of cars with no tax and no MOT.

The "figures" used in those threads, that you pasted, are all speculation. I'm sure there is indeed a higher percentage (maybe even much higher %) of cars without MOT/tax here than certainly the UK, but we will have to agree to differ on this figure of 40-50% of yours.
[/quote]
Well some quote 60% aren't taxed so my 40-50% of people with either no tax or an un-roadworthy car is fairly conservative. Obviously I have no way of knowing for sure but a couple of things lead me to think that an awful lot of cars don't have car tax;
1) When the police do set up to do random checks in and around Lapta I can't help but note cars flashing their headlights as a warning and lots of cars pulling off the main road to avoid a spot check.
2) The amnesties that the government give re road tax. If there isn't a wide scale problem, why the amnesties?

So, what would your solution be then EnjoyingTheSun?

Less cars.
Time will tell whether the road widening is a solution but I think everyone who thinks it maybe a solution should prepare themselves for a disappointment.

EnjoyingTheSun, I'm sorry if you feel that I'm trying to be argumentative here. You see, I have dual nationality ... and I am somewhat defensive of all things Turkish Cypriot.

Not a problem, I like TRNC and TCs which is why I live here. I like TCs so much I want them to live longer by either learning to drive better/safer or maybe consider getting a Dolmus. I often get a Dolmus and basic supply and demand tells me if more people use them then there will be more of them which will also take cars off the road.
I used to drive in and out of London 5 times a week so I do know a little about slow moving traffic. I always laugh when I read how much congestion the congestion charged relieved. To my experienced eye it measured around zero.

[iancrumpy]

So, what would your solution be then EnjoyingTheSun?

Less cars ... maybe consider getting a dolmus

I'm certainly a dolmuş person and I'm probably one of only a few people on this forum who takes the Kapnos shuttle bus from Larnaca airport. But I don't think a campaign or incentives for people to take the Lapta-Girne dolmuş can solve this particular traffic problem.

And, although I dispute your figures, let's say the authorities here do clamp down on untaxed vehicles and/or vehicles without MOTs - It will just enable the government to raise money for its coffers ... it's unlikely to take vehicles off the road - after all, people need them for their livelihoods.

The road-widening looks like it's going ahead. And I'm sure thought will be put into, say, the issue of vehicles pulling out from supermarket car-parks and the like. We know it won't be ideal, but I do feel it will better than the current situation.

By the way, you might want to double-check the correct arrangement of the

brackets before posting in future ... you mixed it up a little in your last post (msg 15) - don't worry though - at this stage of a thread, it's probably only you and me reading the posts

[sophie]

Oh no you're not Ian. As someone who drives down the area concerned at least once or twice a day, every day, I have made a number of observations. Most of the problem going through the Alsancak main road is the fact there must be at least twenty turn offs, right and left, which brings traffic to a dead halt, but you will notice that a number of shops and little "cottages" have been moved back from the road from when we first moved here. Those that haven't have probably not yet come to a agreement regarding compensation. If they don't then the properties will be forced to move, rather than slow down construction more than is necessary. I do know that some are deliberately holding out as long a possible, hoping for larger compensations. I think many of the side road will be closed off and drivers forced to drive to where roundabouts will be constructed. The bottom of our road being one of them. Where the Dame with the Flame is another and possibly two others. The traffic is so very bad at the times quoted in the evenings, that hundreds of vehicles (including huge lorries) drive on what has become a 1.5mile rat run on a very narrow road, 90% of which has no pavements. When vehicles get to the end of the rat run, they find themselves in a queue of 30 cars or more trying to get back on to the main road again. It is absolutely murder and the sooner the dualling starts, the better as we moved here to get away from traffic but its getting worse and worse on roads not constructed for it.

[iancrumpy]

I think many of the side road will be closed off and drivers forced to drive to where roundabouts will be constructed. The bottom of our road being one of them. Where the Dame with the Flame is another and possibly two others.

Having a roundabout at the bottom of your road is certainly nice - if coming from Girne, we have to drive about 2km past our house, before taking the Boğaz turning to come back up to the mountain. Hey ho!

[EnjoyingTheSun]

Having been the victim of two near suicidal manouvers on the roads in 5 days anything that enables the drivers to go faster or more opportunity to change lanes isn't going to end well!
People pulling out of a block of 4 shops to visit another block of 4 shops via a dual carriageway? What could go wrong?
Personally I think for the most part there will only be two lanes operational thus defeating the purpose, but time will tell.