‘Pedestrians risking their lives by not using footbridges’
PEDESTRIANS are putting their lives at risk by dodging traffic to cross busy dual carriageways rather than using footbridges.
That was the warning issued by Mehmet Avcı, the head of the Traffic Accidents Prevention Association.
“People, particularly those who are young and healthy, jump over the barriers and throw themselves into the road and in front of cars,” he said. “These people put their own lives and the lives of drivers at risk.”
Mr Avcı explained that one of the measures used in Turkey that could be applied in North Cyprus is to fence off the area around the footbridges and to impose “heavy penalties” against pedestrians who do not use them as a deterrent.
Footbridges, built by mobile phone company North Cyprus Turkcell, exist over the roads leading to Gönyeli and Güzelyurt and on Dr Fazıl Küçük Bulvarı, just before the turn-off for Near East University.
Mr Avcı also stated that the first overpass in the TRNC was built by Eastern Mediterranean University in Gazimağusa and noted that the last one was built by Cyprus International University at an area where accidents had resulted in pedestrian deaths.
“There are also other locations that need a footbridge or a subway,” he said, such as near the Atatürk Statue in Lefkoşa where there are four lanes of traffic and schools.
“Likewise, a footbridge is a must in spots where the main roads pass through a village,” he added.
He explained that in Demirhan, where a fatal accident had previously occurred, his organisation had tried to add a pedestrian crossing as a precaution but this was “not the right solution”.
Mr Avcı also said that footbridges need to be accessible to elderly and disabled people.
“The problem can be solved by including a lift for these people when the footbridges are being built and, if necessary, by issuing key cards solely for their use,” he said.