Long traffic jam to 2004
Despite the official inauguration yesterday of a major highway hub in northern Athens, poorly placed signposts and transport planners’ failure to adjust local traffic lights resulted in even worse bottlenecks than when the junction was still under construction. Ominously, Public Works Minister Vasso Papandreou, who visited the three-level intersection of Kifissias Avenue and the new Attiki Odos yesterday morning, warned that Athenians should prepare for even greater frustration ahead of the 2004 Olympics. «Work on the next (Kifissias Avenue) intersection at the Olympic Stadium will start soon, which means that Athenians will be subjected to considerable hardship,» she told journalists. «Immediately after Easter, construction of the (Psychiko) Pharos hub is due to begin. So I must ask citizens to be patient until the end of 2003, when the entire network of road projects planned for the Olympic Games will be complete, and living conditions in Athens will improve greatly.» Only the middle part of the junction, carrying Kifissias Avenue over a vast expanse of churned earth that will eventually become part of Attiki Odos linking Spata Airport to Elefsina, is currently ready, as well as the circular interchange that will link Kifissias to the highway. Yesterday, however, drivers were unaware of the fact that they could use the roundabout and jammed into the two lanes of Kifissias Avenue. The situation was exacerbated by the closure of the left turn lane from the southbound part of Kifissias toward Maroussi along Sorou Street. Unsynchronized traffic lights did not help. Traffic police and Public Works Ministry officials said yesterday things should get better within the next few days, once proper signposts have been installed. And Papandreou promised that once Attiki Odos is ready – in 2003 – traffic will be much alleviated. Speaking on Skai radio yesterday, she also confirmed that ministry officials are considering taking further action to cut down on the number of cars circulating in the congested center of Athens. Papandreou said ideas under consideration include issuing each family with a single pass for the center, while abolishing the current system in which cars are only allowed into the center every second day depending on whether the last digit on the license plates is even or odd. She said most families have got round that restriction by buying two cars with both even and odd last digits on their number plates. And Papandreou said the area currently subject to restrictions could be considerably expanded.
