Nicosia’s Pedieos Linear Park is set for a 21 million euro overhaul that will add footbridges, gardens, playgrounds and sports courts along the river, according to an environmental impact assessment.
The assessment is open for consultation at the Environment Department until October 23. The master plan covers 15 areas stretching from the Nicosia Municipal Garden to Anthoupolis. It is divided that way to make design and construction easier to manage. The three municipalities involved, Nicosia, Strovolos and Lakatamia, will base their development on the project.
Two phases
Nicosia Intermunicipal Development Projects Ltd (DAEL) will carry out the work in two phases.
The first phase covers priority works at the Municipal Garden, Prodromou Park and Agioi Omologites in Nicosia, part of the Strovolos Town Hall area and the first Lakatamia area. Construction is expected to start in the second half of 2027 and finish in early 2029.
Work on the remaining areas is expected to begin around the end of 2028 and be completed in the second half of 2030.
What is planned
The existing 11km walking and cycling path will be resurfaced with a new, durable, water-permeable material and split into separate lanes. It will also be extended by 5.1km towards Anthoupolis, Agios Dimitrios Park and Michalakis Sofokleous Park.
The plan includes 13 new footbridges and upgrades to existing pedestrian crossings to make them signal-controlled. There will also be 13 new car parks with permeable surfaces and electric vehicle chargers, and one park-and-ride site.
Native species will be planted across 190,000 square metres. The planted areas include two botanical gardens, a music garden, seven sensory, therapeutic or educational gardens, eight areas for pollinators and an artificial lake to support biodiversity.
For sport and leisure, the plan provides:
- Play: 11 nature-style playgrounds and three energy playgrounds.
- Sport: five new courts at Anthoupolis (basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball, padel and tennis), four outdoor gyms, two bike parks, skateparks and dog parks.
- Events: two amphitheatres, seven wooden event stages, an outdoor events space and an outdoor art exhibition area.
- Facilities: eight new cafés, 12 new public toilets, eight bike hubs, and picnic and seating areas.
Area by area
At the Municipal Garden, the crossing on Nechrou Street will be upgraded and the park linked to the new Cyprus Archaeological Museum. The area also gets an information point, a bike hub, upgraded toilets, more biodiversity and emergency vehicle access on Chilonos Street.
Prodromou Park will get a café, a picnic area, a local produce kiosk, an adventure playground, a bike hub and new toilets. Its footpath will be widened and emergency vehicle access added.
At Agioi Omologites, a new footbridge and a second, 350-metre cycle crossing are planned, with new access points, parking, a bike hub and safer crossings. The riverbed will also be restored.
Near the Presidential Palace, the plan proposes a small amphitheatre, outdoor exhibitions, a natural bike track, an outdoor board games area, a bike hub and a new footbridge. A square, an emergency area, a playground and an outdoor gym are planned on Kolokotroni Street.
On Athalassas Avenue, new car parks, the park-and-ride site, a small café and public toilets are planned. The junction with Agias Marinas Street will get a raised, signal-controlled crossing with a single paving surface.
At Strovolos Town Hall, a square on Chryseleousis Street will serve as a gateway to the centre of Strovolos. The existing car park will be upgraded, new toilets built, and the grounds around the town hall landscaped and fitted with solar pavement.
At Agios Vasileios, a new footbridge will link the two banks. The park could later be extended towards the area’s homes and schools via Kantaras Street.
On Elaionon Street, the bridge will be widened with buttresses so pedestrians can cross more safely. An energy playground, toilets and a car park are planned on the south bank, and a dog park, a skatepark and organic growing plots on the north bank.
Near PAEEK, a new footbridge will improve links with the residential area. The existing lift on Spyrou Kyprianou Avenue will be repaired, and more native species planted on both banks.
At Agios Mamas, a new footbridge is planned where the river joins the Pedieos, and the route will be extended through Michalakis Sofokleous Park towards the village. Playgrounds, an upgraded square with seating, native planting and pollinator areas on the north bank are also proposed.
At Magkli Lake, the plan includes small kiosks, a café, playgrounds, a therapeutic garden, an outdoor events space, an outdoor gym, toilets and a new footbridge linking the banks.
On Ioanni Kapodistria Street, the road bridge will be rebuilt and raised because of flood risk, and the walking and cycling path widened. An emergency point will be created in connection with the Lakatamia Medical Centre.
In the first Lakatamia area, the south bank will get an outdoor activities space for parkour and climbing, an outdoor board games area, a natural bike park with a bike hub and two new car parks. The north bank will get small wooden stages, a small amphitheatre, kiosks, seating, a sensory park, two cafés with toilets, an energy playground, a nature playground and kinetic pavement.
In the second Lakatamia area, the west bank will get wooden event stages, energy and nature playgrounds, toilets, a bike hub and a pollinator park with an educational point. The east bank will get a new car park, new toilets, a bike hub, a playground and kinetic pavement along the footpath.
At Anthoupolis, a new footbridge by Anthoupolis secondary school will join the two banks. The area will also get the five sports courts, a picnic and seating area, toilets, a café, a playground, a pollinator park and a new car park.
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