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EU Urban Mobility Observatory

Cyprus

The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works is the body responsible for Mobility Planning in Cyprus, including urban mobility.  The Town and Spatial Planning Law stipulates that that planning in urban areas shall be according to Local Plans that are developed for each urban metropolitan area. These are augmented by Area Plans which deal in more detail with specific parts of the city, usually city centres.  

Local Plans and Area Plans make reference to sustainable mobility. For example, objectives within the Nicosia Local Plan include:

  • Discouraging the use of the private vehicle for intra-urban movements, particularly within the Urban Center and historical cores.
  • The substantial upgrading of the significance, role and efficiency of public transport.
  • Ensure the necessary conditions and infrastructure to encourage intra-urban movements by environmentally-friendly means such as cycling and walking.

Since 2006, The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works has sought to reverse the trend of declining public transport usage by instigating the Programme for the Enhancement of Public Transport.  This was agreed with the European Commission and certain actions were earmarked for EU co-funding in the Programming Period 2007-2013.  In this programme, it was assessed that the first actions in the urban areas should be the development of integrated mobility master plans, upon which all other actions should be based.

The Nicosia Integrated Mobility Master Plan (bearing all the hallmarks of a SUMP) was developed and accepted in 2010 and, after an initial delay, it was initiated in 2015.  A number of projects are currently either at implementation or design stage, most of them co-funded by EU structural funds.

  • A SUMP for Limassol, the island’s second city, is currently under way and expected to be completed in early 2019.
  • The contract for the Larnaca SUMP is expected to be awarded before the end of 2017. 
  • The Ministry is planning to procure studies for SUMPs for Paphos and Famagusta.
  • The Ministry is planning to update the Nicosia SUMP and develop a National Strategic Transport Plan (i.e. a country-wide SUMP).

Member state contact: 

Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works

References: 

http://sump4cyprus.org/en/

Author: Michael Lambrinos

 

Last updated: 13 March 2018