Newsroom
There was a time when Makarios Avenue was not simply another street in Nicosia. It was the street.
Arguably the country’s premier shopping destination, the avenue bustled with shoppers carrying bags between department stores, fashion boutiques, and cafés. For an entire generation, a trip into town meant Makarios Avenue. And who could forget Le Café and Da Capo, where finding a table could be almost as difficult as finding parking?
People went there to shop but also to see and be seen. The coffee was only part of the attraction.
Today, the avenue looks very different. It has been extensively redeveloped, with wider pavements, trees, and space designed for pedestrians, bicycles, and public transport. But despite the polished surroundings, it has struggled to recover the crowds and commercial energy that once made it the heart of the capital.
Now, the debate over its future is back, and once again, the car is at the center of it.
A group representing businesses in urban commercial centers is calling for Makarios Avenue to reopen more fully to private vehicles, including the return of two-way traffic along its southern section. Supporters argue that restricted access has hurt businesses and separated the newer city center from the historic commercial area within the walls.
Nicosia Mayor Charalambos Prountzos says the issue is not new and acknowledges the need to bring commercial activity back. But changing the traffic arrangements is more complicated than simply moving a few signs and reopening the road.
The current restrictions were introduced by the previous municipal council as part of the avenue’s redevelopment and the capital’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. Because the project received European funding, major changes could potentially trigger demands for some of that money to be returned.
That would leave taxpayers paying for a street that had already been redesigned and then paying again to alter it.
Prountzos said the present Municipal Council has approved changes to the traffic arrangements and that the municipality is working to implement them without putting European funding at risk.
In the meantime, the mayor is preparing a broader plan that goes beyond whether cars should be allowed back.
He said he will submit a package of proposals in September aimed at speeding up the recovery of Nicosia’s commercial center. The plan will include incentives, disincentives, and other measures intended to attract people and businesses back to the area.
The mayor also believes there are already encouraging signs.
Two academic institutions are moving into the historic center, a development expected to bring around 1,000 students to the area by 2029. Most are expected to live nearby, potentially giving the center something it desperately needs: people who are there every day, not just for an occasional shopping trip.
Two hotels are also being developed. One is nearing completion, while the other is at an advanced stage and is expected to be operated by a major Cypriot hotel group.
The contract for the commercial development at the old GSP stadium site was awarded on July 30, while other private investments are also moving ahead in the city center.
These projects could help create a more permanent population of students, residents, hotel guests, and workers. But for struggling shopkeepers, the question is whether that revival will arrive quickly enough.
The business platform insists that reopening Makarios Avenue and restoring two-way traffic in its southern section would make shops easier to reach. Prountzos, however, said the municipality is already discussing the wider redevelopment and traffic arrangements with the group and suggested that exchanging public announcements would do little to resolve the issue.
Behind the disagreement lies a bigger question: What does a modern city center need to survive?
Cars may improve access for some customers, but traffic alone cannot recreate the Makarios Avenue people remember. Shopping habits have changed; malls have moved customers away from traditional high streets, and online retail has made competition even tougher. A successful revival will require shops people want to visit, homes people can afford, reliable public transport, offices, restaurants, and reasons to remain in the area after business hours.
Makarios Avenue does not need to become exactly what it was. The days of Le Café and Da Capo belong to a particular chapter in Nicosia’s history.
But if the right mix of people, businesses, and investment can be brought together, the avenue may yet become somewhere people talk about in the present tense, rather than a place they only remember.
