Municipality of Athens: Over 90,000 violations of the KOK in two months

THE municipal police in the last two months he recorded almost 92 thousand KOK violations. At the peak of… indifference were found more than 700 vehicle drivers who they parked in front of handicap rampsexcluding access to people with disabilities and parents with babies in strollers. Thousands of two-wheelers were spotted parked on pavements or they passed illegally through Ermou, Apostolou Pavlou and other pedestrian streets.

“Free and easy access to the center and neighborhoods of Athens is an issue that is inextricably linked to the quality of life in the city. Athens had been lagging behind in terms of accessibility for many years, turning the movement of citizens into the center and the neighborhoods into a “Calvary”. As a municipal authority, we follow a two-pronged strategy: One is to create the necessary infrastructure in the city and the second is to take preventive measures to deal with the abuse of public space and anti-social behavior” said the mayor of Athens to APE-MBE, Kostas Bakoyannis. “However, in order for this image to change radically and for us to live in an environment welcoming to all, our own interventions are definitely not enough. The way in which the citizens themselves deal with the city should also change. This means that it must be self-evident that we all respect the public space and the needs of our fellow citizensadded the mayor of Athens.

The municipal police from 1/5 to 7/7 2022 recorded 91,703 violations for KOK. Analytically:

• 754 were parked in front of or on disabled ramps
• 3,419 vehicle plates were removed for illegal parking
• 11,379 slopes were cut into two-wheelers
• 600 for two-wheeled crossings in the commercial triangle of Athens
• 7,740 on two-wheelers parked on pavements
• 1,616 on two-wheelers on footpaths

The municipal police together with the traffic police proceeded to 106 crane removals. But the checks and fines extend to catering after at least 160 shops in 291 checks were found to have music above 80 decibels. So far 26 shops have been sealed, with Gazi holding the lead. Another 140 stores received lawsuits.

During the same period, the people of the Municipal Police made 1,450 checks for illegal table seats. In 55 cases, equipment was removed as the shops became illegal. In fact, in 8 shops, the licenses of common areas were withdrawn for six months, as provided by law. “We will continue the checks we do in all the fields of our responsibilities,” the deputy mayor of the Municipal Police and public spaces, Vassilis Koromantzos, told APE-MPE and continued: “We have requested recruitments. There is a serious shortage of manpower in the municipal police. At one time, the municipal police force had 1,150 people and today it has 420 but still we keep trying. In the summer, we place special emphasis on noise pollution and the liberation of public space from squatters or from motorbikes on sidewalks, especially on table seats.”

Now, the Municipality of Athens applies strict specifications for ramps, markings and routing guides for people with disabilities in all urban renewal projects. Also, recently four accessible routes for people with visual impairments and another four for people with mobility disabilities have been created (https://accessibleroutes.thisisathens.org). In various parts of the city, more than 830 sensors were installed on ramps which alert the municipal police to immediately impose the prescribed penalties. The measure is expected to be extended to more neighborhoods in Athens.

RES-EMP

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