Taxing idle properties, speeding up licensing, boosting urban planning incentives, and promoting the city centre emerged as key “radical” interventions from a structured democratic dialogue workshop co-organised by the ETEK (Technical Chamber of Cyprus) and the Nicosia Municipality.
The workshop gathered 25 participants who submitted a total of 103 proposals focused on upgrading the capital’s centre. ETEK said the workshop aimed to shape realistic actions to strengthen the centre’s visitor numbers, commercial viability, and sustainability.
Among the priorities selected was the need for the state to grant financial incentives to reactivate all empty shops, a move participants considered crucial for Nicosia’s regeneration.
Traffic and Makariou Avenue debate
A core area of debate centred on traffic management, particularly the controversial issue of reopening Makariou Avenue to private vehicles.
Shop owners on Makariou Avenue are seeking to reintroduce private vehicles, arguing that the dedication of one lane to buses harms the city’s overall traffic flow.
However, the workshop’s conclusions recorded that proposals aiming to reopen Makariou Avenue were not sufficiently “connected” to the action plan aimed at boosting the city centre’s commerciality and sustainability while respecting sustainable development principles.
Despite this, the proposals to open the avenue received 12 votes from attendees, leading participants to conclude that prioritising related actions to alleviate the problem until a final solution is found remains necessary.
Interpreting the participants’ views, ETEK President Constantinos Constanti said the collaborative process highlighted one clear point: “Reopening the avenue to cars, as an isolated idea, is currently not integrated into a supportive network of different measures, and is therefore not prioritised.”
He acknowledged that the anxiety over Makariou Avenue is “real and respected,” and suggested targeted, low-cost, high-benefit measures until a comprehensive plan is finalised:
- Adding more shading and greenery for a better microclimate.
- Installing urban equipment.
- Unifying operating hours to create a cohesive visitor experience.
- Targeted parking subsidies for short visits.
- Rearranging intercity bus routes.
- Relocating Solomos Square as a bus terminal.
- Blocking all vehicles on weekends.
- Scheduling cultural and business activities to increase flow and stay time.
The entire discussion was triggered by the earlier, controversial decision to open Makariou Avenue to all private vehicles.
Key proposals
Constanti, echoing the views of several participants, put forward additional structural suggestions focusing on long-term strategy:
- Taxation: Imposing a tax on idle property in the city centre and reinvesting the revenue into regeneration interventions.
- Licensing: Implementing fast-track licensing for changes of use and minor interventions, including establishing templates for protected buildings.
- Planning: Strengthening and simplifying urban planning incentives under the Area Plan to ensure clear and enforceable rules.
- Marketing: Creating a branding/marketing mechanism for a unified image, targeted campaigns, and providing a “red carpet” for small and medium-scale investments.
- Mobility Plan: Revising and updating the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan based on current data.
Constanti stressed the need for consistency, stating, “When the connection between projects is missing, the dynamic is lost… The city needs consistency and mutual support of interventions: every project must support and be supported by a network of other projects.”
Participants in the workshop included individuals promoting the interests of various groups, such as shop owners, alongside those not directly affected.
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