The Minister of Citizen Protection, Yiannis Oikonomou, announced measures to reduce traffic in Athens and relieve congestion in Kifissos, telling ERT that from today along the avenue will be placed two cranes and motorcycles.

The purpose of the government is, when a traffic accident occurs, to intervene immediately and remove the vehicles from Kifissos in order not to create a traffic jam.

“Kifissos is one of the main entrances to Athens but also to the commercial operation of the whole of Attica” said Mr. Oikonomou stressing that one of the main causes of suffering are breakdowns and accidents.

Permanent crane-carrying traffic vehicles

“From today we will permanently install crane-carrying traffic vehicles with drivers to intervene more quickly,” revealed the minister.

At the same time, as he said, motorcycles will go up and down the two streams of Kifisos Avenue in order to have an immediate picture and reaction to the problems on the central road axis of Athens.

“With this way of reacting when there are accidents and we aspire that in this way we will contribute to the decongestion of Kifissos”, noted the Minister of Civil Protection.

And as Mr. Economou pointed out, the goal is to reduce the response time. “What is happening in Kifissos is another step in what we have been working on and implementing gradually for some time now to limit traffic in Athens. Congestion is not just a policing issue, it’s a transportation issue.”

He noted that there are still things that can be done to improve the traffic problem in Kifissos and Athens during peak hours.

“We are strengthening the traffic police”

“We have launched a whole campaign against double parking” he said while there is better policing to curb KOK offences.

“We will be constantly in the field, strengthening the traffic police, strengthening the forces to contribute with small and larger interventions where needed and where required, in cooperation with the relevant Ministries, to limit, wherever possible, the suffering our fellow citizens are suffering due to of the very large volume of cars moving in Kifissos and in the center of Athens and elsewhere”, he added.