Corfu Travel Agents tell Regional Governor - "Using the roads is like a mini-Odyssey!"
AOCTA
29 Jan 2019
/ 09:23
CORFU. The roads have been abandoned in one of the country΄s top tourist destinations.
The President of the Association of Corfu Tourist Agents (AOCTA) Vassilis Kaloudis sent a letter to the Ionian Islands Regional Governor Theodoros Galiatsatos regarding the huge problems with the roads in Corfu.
In the letter he refers to the difficulty in "offering high-quality services in the transfers of locals and visitors" and apart from the matter of safety, "the deterioration of our property - tourist coaches".
Mr. Kaloudis stressed the lack of action from the local authority in recent years even though "we're talking about one of the country's top tourist destinations and we, as citizens and businesspeople, fulfil our obligation to the state by paying our road taxes and this should be reciprocated." Instead of this, at several points the road network seems to be "forsaken".
The need for work to be done on the Girou - Achilleio Road is especially highlighted. "It is, to say the least, unacceptable...Lack of lighting, insufficient road markings, insufficient signage etc."We don't need to be reminded of the road accident a few days ago where a little girl lost her life. The bypass Tria Gefiria-Chrysida or Tria Gefyra-Ponti should already have been completed "to facilitate access to the town from the southern and central areas. During the six months of the tourist season access to and exit from the town during the rush hour is like a mini-Odyssey for drivers and passengers..."
The letter from AOCTA
Dear Mr. Governor,
With this letter we would like to state the problems we are facing on the Corfu road network which make our work and mission - offering high-quality services in the transfers of locals and visitors - extremely difficult.
Furthermore, we mustn't ignore the safety of drivers and passengers - which goes without saying - and also the serious damages to and deterioration of our property - tourist coaches - which cost thousands of Euros. Unfortunately, in recent years the necessary work has not been carried out on the roads in order to remove these obstacles to our work and eliminate the damage to our property. We don't know the reasons for this, although we do understand that all the local authorities in the memoranda years have suffered huge cuts in funding. There are however, strong counter-arguments - we are talking about one of the country's top tourist destinations and we, as citizens and businesspeople, fulfil our obligation to the state by paying our road taxes and this should be reciprocated.
Instead of this, at several points our road network seems to be 'forsaken', through lack of necessary maintenance and improvement work. For example, there are several places on the road network where the tree branches on both sides of the road haven't been cut and in order to avoid them drivers are forced to move to the opposite side of the road, with all the dangers that entails - or if they can't do this, our coaches suffer damage from the branches. Another example is when there are olive branches and the olives that have fallen make the road slippery.
Potholes are another major problem. A large number of these haven't been filled in but it isn't just a matter of filling in potholes - this is just a temporary solution. The whole road network in Corfu, which covers many kilometres, has deteriorated to such an extent that it requires a complete makeover.
In addition to the above, we would also like to say that we have observed over the last two years a lack of road markings. We point this out because when there is a large number of visitors to the island with rented cars who don't know the roads, lack of proper signage and road markings can be dangerous.
Dear Mr. Governor,
We would finally like to stress the immediate need for something to be done on the Girou - Achilleio Road. This is a main road which serves thousands of residents and visitors coming into town from the southern and central areas. It is, to say the least, unacceptable. Lack of lighting - as is true in many other roads - insufficient road markings, insufficient signage and a lot more. We don't need to be reminded of the road accident a few days ago where a little girl lost her life when going to school.
The bypass Tria Gefiria-Chrysida or Tria Gefyra-Ponti should already have been completed in order to facilitate access to the town from the southern and central areas. During the six months of the tourist season access to and exit from the town during the rush hour is like a mini-Odyssey for drivers and passengers. And of course this isn't the only bypass that needs to be constructed if we want Corfu to be a modern, attractive tourist destination. There should also be a bypass around Corfu Town, but this is a matter for the local authority.
Dear Mr. Governor,
We could go on endlessly with details and work that needs to be done to improve our island's road network.
We believe we have expressed the problems that exist and look forward to your positive response.
Vassilis Kaloudis - President
Harilaos Linosporis - General Secretary
In the letter he refers to the difficulty in "offering high-quality services in the transfers of locals and visitors" and apart from the matter of safety, "the deterioration of our property - tourist coaches".
Mr. Kaloudis stressed the lack of action from the local authority in recent years even though "we're talking about one of the country's top tourist destinations and we, as citizens and businesspeople, fulfil our obligation to the state by paying our road taxes and this should be reciprocated." Instead of this, at several points the road network seems to be "forsaken".
The need for work to be done on the Girou - Achilleio Road is especially highlighted. "It is, to say the least, unacceptable...Lack of lighting, insufficient road markings, insufficient signage etc."We don't need to be reminded of the road accident a few days ago where a little girl lost her life. The bypass Tria Gefiria-Chrysida or Tria Gefyra-Ponti should already have been completed "to facilitate access to the town from the southern and central areas. During the six months of the tourist season access to and exit from the town during the rush hour is like a mini-Odyssey for drivers and passengers..."
The letter from AOCTA
Dear Mr. Governor,
With this letter we would like to state the problems we are facing on the Corfu road network which make our work and mission - offering high-quality services in the transfers of locals and visitors - extremely difficult.
Furthermore, we mustn't ignore the safety of drivers and passengers - which goes without saying - and also the serious damages to and deterioration of our property - tourist coaches - which cost thousands of Euros. Unfortunately, in recent years the necessary work has not been carried out on the roads in order to remove these obstacles to our work and eliminate the damage to our property. We don't know the reasons for this, although we do understand that all the local authorities in the memoranda years have suffered huge cuts in funding. There are however, strong counter-arguments - we are talking about one of the country's top tourist destinations and we, as citizens and businesspeople, fulfil our obligation to the state by paying our road taxes and this should be reciprocated.
Instead of this, at several points our road network seems to be 'forsaken', through lack of necessary maintenance and improvement work. For example, there are several places on the road network where the tree branches on both sides of the road haven't been cut and in order to avoid them drivers are forced to move to the opposite side of the road, with all the dangers that entails - or if they can't do this, our coaches suffer damage from the branches. Another example is when there are olive branches and the olives that have fallen make the road slippery.
Potholes are another major problem. A large number of these haven't been filled in but it isn't just a matter of filling in potholes - this is just a temporary solution. The whole road network in Corfu, which covers many kilometres, has deteriorated to such an extent that it requires a complete makeover.
In addition to the above, we would also like to say that we have observed over the last two years a lack of road markings. We point this out because when there is a large number of visitors to the island with rented cars who don't know the roads, lack of proper signage and road markings can be dangerous.
Dear Mr. Governor,
We would finally like to stress the immediate need for something to be done on the Girou - Achilleio Road. This is a main road which serves thousands of residents and visitors coming into town from the southern and central areas. It is, to say the least, unacceptable. Lack of lighting - as is true in many other roads - insufficient road markings, insufficient signage and a lot more. We don't need to be reminded of the road accident a few days ago where a little girl lost her life when going to school.
The bypass Tria Gefiria-Chrysida or Tria Gefyra-Ponti should already have been completed in order to facilitate access to the town from the southern and central areas. During the six months of the tourist season access to and exit from the town during the rush hour is like a mini-Odyssey for drivers and passengers. And of course this isn't the only bypass that needs to be constructed if we want Corfu to be a modern, attractive tourist destination. There should also be a bypass around Corfu Town, but this is a matter for the local authority.
Dear Mr. Governor,
We could go on endlessly with details and work that needs to be done to improve our island's road network.
We believe we have expressed the problems that exist and look forward to your positive response.
Vassilis Kaloudis - President
Harilaos Linosporis - General Secretary
