New Jumbo is a ticking time bomb

The new Jumbo that has just opened in Nicosia is located at the junction of Shacolas Park, opposite the hospital. This junction under the best conditions is under constant pressure from traffic. The new Jumbo is in a pre-existing building whic

By: cyprus-mail.com

Dec 19 2024
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New Jumbo is a ticking time bo

The new Jumbo that has just opened in Nicosia is located at the junction of Shacolas Park, opposite the hospital. This junction under the best conditions is under constant pressure from traffic.

The new Jumbo is in a pre-existing building which was a car showroom. On a good day has it would have seen an estimated 100-200 visitors, while Jumbo gets no less than 1,000. The rise in people travelling to the location calls for a huge amount of parking – the Jumbo in Lakatamia has more than 500 spots and adjacent empty fields are used in addition to these.

The next issue is the rise in traffic which it will cause in an already problematic area. Some infrastructure works have been carried out to improve the situation, but having visited, I don’t believe these projects will prove to adequately solve the problem. There are already queues of cars surrounding the roundabout, while the strange addition of traffic lights inside the roundabout has begun to cause accidents.

Unfortunately, the problem is not limited to this. Congestion is building up at the exit from Nicosia that leads to the southern periphery of Nicosia (Latsia, Dali, Nisou and so on) and further. A similar problem is now observed at the Polemidia-Platres junction as well the area around the Orfanidis/Troodos Avenue traffic lights.

When reviewing the application for the building permit for the new Jumbo, officials must have considered this predictable situation but given the permit anyway.

Unfortunately, the cost of the failure will be paid by us citizens, both in transit time, fuel costs and mechanical damage. The issue will also have an impact on real estate demand and property.

Antonis Loizou & Associates EPE – Real Estate Appraisers & Development Project Managers, www.aloizou.com.cy, antonis.loizou@aloizou.com.cy