Letter to the Mayor

This is a letter from the residents of Takt-el-Kale, explaining very basic problems the area has. We’ll collect now the signatures of the neighbors and send them to the Mayor.

Nicosia, 17-11-2007

To the Mayor of Nicosia, Ms. Eleni Mavrou:

The neighbours of the streets of Thiseos, Agiou Ioannou, Antigonou, Pnytagorou, Iracleous, Othellou, Klearchou which belong to the residential area of Takt-el-Kale, Nicosia, would like to bring to your attention the following problems caused by traffic, among many others that exist in the neighborhood. The basic ones, the people have identified are due to the following factors:

Lack of security

-Very narrow streets (less than 3m wide, typical of all medieval cities) that cannot function due to the following problems.
-Excessive velocity of cars.
-Excessively large vehicles.
-Disrespectful and dangerous attitude of drivers (especially at night).
-Nonexisting pedestrian facilities (narrow insufficient side walks with no barriers to avoid illegal parking). Pedestrians (especially small children and older people) constantly threatened by traffic.

Circulation problems

-Unjustified traffic unrelated to the area crossing it while other more sufficient streets (wider, with no residents) exist around on the borders of the neighborhood.
-24 hour disturbance of the area caused by the unrelated traffic, who’s drivers ignore the existence of the residents.
-Non-existing drainage system for the rain water in the streets. Constant damage to the houses (newly restored and old ones) due to the water that gathers in the streets during rainy weather. The continuous movement of cars at high velocity endlessly splashes the buildings (up to a height of 1.5m on the facades), and the water and dirt enters in big quantities inside causing even more damage (a specific example of this is Thisseos str. which turns into a river every time it rains, and the traffic is continuous and uncontrolled).

Parking problems

-Lack of parking for residents.
-Cars unrelated to the area in search for parking.
-Streets blocked and not functional during the day and night due to inconsiderately and recklessly parked cars of unrelated traffic, which make it impossible for pedestrians to walk, and handicapped people to ‘exist’.

Due to the above, we demand and await from the municipality an urgent intervention to solve the problems. The pedestrianisation of streets, closing them to non-residential traffic, the correct infrastructure (drainage system etc.) and the solution to parking issues that will solve residents´ needs, is a ‘must’ not a luxury.

Too basic needs, aren't they...?

Mmmm, good ideas!

New picture for the contest.

Title:

"Parking problems in Nicosia? No. Why ask?"

P.S. Yes, is Famagusta Gate...

T-shirts

Here are the T-shirts! Wearing them for the first time at the Bazaraki that took place in Phaneromeni last weekend. Great work from Lara!

Interview

Pola just send thils link. Here is a very good interview published on Politis. We are working on a translation in english, soon will be ready.

http://www.politis-news.com/cgibin/hweb?-A=756763&-V=archivearticles

Beauty and the beast...

And this is our first picture from Maria Kosti.

Title: "I was trying to get out of home to start the day..."

Photo Contest

Today we are going to start a new section in the blog: "Photo Contest"

The subject will be: “Reports about the situation of the City Within the Walls”. You can send as may pictures as you want, any format and size, to the e-mail of the blog (awakewithinthewalls@gmail.com), including a title for every photo. The jury will be the members of the group in the first meeting after the end of the deadline, choosing there a winner. The prize for the winner will be a T-shirt with the logo of the group.

The first contest will last until the end of this year, so works will be accepted until 31 of December 2007. We will also try to exhibit the works whenever we have a chance. This is not an official contest, and the only objective is to show the situation in the old city through pictures, that, sometimes, are better than thousand words!

Thriller

I'm a real fan of Blair Witch Project, and this is real close!

Try to walk Nicosia on Saturday night, if you dare!

SAVE THE CITY, DON’T JUST PAINT IT!!

Well… different opinions for the presentation in Famagusta Gate. Let’s try to summarize it in some points:

* The reason of the meeting was the presentation to the neighbors of Takt-el-Kale of the restoration of one part of the area, including Pendadaxtilou Street, Ermou Street, Ammochosto Street and Leoforos Athinas. The intervention is focuses on facades, pavements, and urban furniture.
* The objective is the rehabilitation of Takt-el-Kale area, in stages, that will involve in the future Agios Antonios and Agios Ioannis areas. This first intervention will be divided in three phases, beginning spring next year and for a period of more than one year.
* The presentation was carried on from Nicosia’s Mayor, Eleni Mavrou and the Architects Petropoulou and Papadopoulou. The audience, basically neighbors of Takt-el-Kale, were approximately around 100 people.

After the presentation of the project, it was the time for questions, and these are some of the conclusions:

+ Most of the interventions by the people began with a: “I would like to thank the Major for this project….” And continued with “… but the real problem is…”
+ The project offers a “face cleaning” of the area. The people spoke about their actual problems, which their project had almost nothing to do with.
+ The main problems are quite obvious: garbage, light, traffic, parking, clubs, noises, the mill, etc. None of these are solved in the project, not even mentioned.
+ Although the project can help the area, bigger efforts are needed for more obvious and urgent problems.

The last hour was a little bit of a mess; people trying to give their points and the Mayor trying to defend hers. In the end, the project presented wasn’t the main subject of discussion, and the people wanted to make the problems clear to the Mayor, so that the municipality can take serious actions to solve them. If this is done correctly, they said, then, in the future, projects like the one presented will be welcomed and applaud. The money should be spent somewhere else at the moment.
Our hope is that these meetings can help to the communication between the government and the inhabitants of the city. We don’t believe they are two different things, but two parts of a bigger one called Nicosia, and they have to walk together hand to hand.

INVITATION

Invitation from the Major!
I’m feeling both hope and fear…
A quick translation would be:

The major of Nicosia Eleni Mavrou …. invites you to the Municipal Presentation of the Work:

“Rehabilitation of a part of the area of Takt-el-Kale in the Inside the Walled City of Nicosia”

…. Famaugusta Gate, Monday 12 November 2007, at 6.00 p.m.

The Work will be probably financed by the European Union…. and the Democracy of Cyprus.


Q: Which are the two odd words?
A: “part” and “ probably”

We still don’t see a general planning for the city needs, there is no consulting with the neighbors, ….
Anyway, let’s not pre-judge and wait for the presentation.

I keep the faith….

Caos

This is a typical example of a traffic jam in the Old City. Streets with less than 3 meters width, without sidewalk, of course, all asphalt, and where the pedestrian are almost forbidden (basically, if you go out of your house, (remember, no sidewalk) and a vehicle runs you over, is your fault for crossing on their way!!!). Frequently, these situations are caused because of the lack of urban planning, and the passivity of authorities, neighbors and shop and restaurant owners.

Here, the situation was caused by a truck who wanted to unload some pinball machines, so they decided the best idea was to go opposite direction in the street, because it was shorter way, and cut the traffic for 15 minutes...

HELP!

We must begin our blog with an S.O.S. call. This blog is created from and for the people of Nicosia, Cyprus, especially those who live within the walls of their historical capital, as an attempt to show the everyday problems the people that live and love this city has to deal with, and to find common solutions through good will and dialogue.

We hope this will be a space for ideas and communication between all the people interested in saving this city. We would like to hear all opinions and walk in the same direction.

Together we will be stronger.

AWAKE!!!