Paris Demetriades
The distraction caused by our phone screens, which might not actually be so smart after all, has become yet another frustrating factor in the awkward, mismatched relationship between pedestrians and cars in the unique urban landscape of Cyprus. Personally, because of this exact issue with phones, I have found myself in dangerous situations dozens of times. Sometimes I am the pedestrian almost getting hit by a car, but more often I am the driver almost hitting an unsuspecting pedestrian who is so glued to their screen that they literally have no idea what is happening around them.
While phone addiction is obviously not just a Cypriot problem, the issue that really needs to be addressed as a matter of public interest for our country is how broken the relationship between pedestrians and vehicles is on our roads. Frankly, it is not just about pedestrians and cars. It affects any human being, able-bodied or not, who dares to get around by any means other than a private vehicle.
A perfect example of this Gordian knot we refuse to untie is the recent circus that caused an uproar among the public in traffic-choked Limassol. People went wild over the admittedly hideous cones used to block off bike lanes and the new bus lanes painted on central avenues. Still, there has to be a solution or a formula out there that can fix this traffic mess. It has been working for years in the vast majority of the world, or at least in the EU, which we supposedly belong to.
Think about how many of the hundreds of thousands of daily car trips could easily be avoided. The average busy working adult, especially with kids to drop off, might have a harder time breaking away from their bulky SUV. However, there are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of other citizens out there, like children, teenagers, grandparents, and plenty of young or middle-aged adults, whose quality of life would skyrocket if they could get from one neighborhood or city to another without being forced into a car. They would not just improve their own lives; they would help our entire society run much more smoothly.
We have made this seem incredibly complicated, but it is actually simple and clear. Public transit needs to compete directly with the private car. Likewise, our routes as pedestrians and cyclists need to be good enough to compete too. That means creating walkways that are pleasant and cool in the summer, built with wide sidewalks and plenty of shade.
To end on a hopeful note, I believe that because we have already hit rock bottom, things can only get better from here. We have already taken a few brave steps forward. A few years ago, public transit was non-existent, while today it at least exists. Some of our city streets and public spaces have also become much more pedestrian-friendly. For all the right reasons, we need to make driving a private car highly inconvenient wherever it is not strictly necessary. What looks like a hopeless dead end right now must become our only way forward.
