Thirteen years, thirteen realisations

Our team started out in March 2010.

For 13 years, we have been sounding the alarm about the state of Greek transport networks.

For 13 years, we have not stopped repeating the same basic principles, the same basic demands.

For 13 years, we have been worrying sick until our children return home.

In these 13 years, we have grown tired of promises that are not kept.

In these 13 years, we have come to understand 13 things:

Vasilis Rebapis, EUROKINISSI

1. No human life is expendable for the sake of transporting one or more people.
2. Infrastructure must be safe for all users, no matter what means of transport they use.
3. The country’s infrastructure falls far short of this ideal, resulting in tragic accidents.
4. The poor state of the road network is accompanied by (and possibly encourages) correspondingly poor driving behaviour, which in turn causes more accidents.
5. Infrastructure can be made safer with specific, internationally tested measures.
6. Poor driving behaviour can also be reduced with appropriate measures.
7. The situation in the transport sector leads to an increase in the use of private cars. This deprives us of public space (parking space, wider streets), time (traffic congestion) and steals years from our lives (inactivity, air pollution, accidents).
8. It is the job of the state and local authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of citizens.
9. However, neither the Greek state nor the local authorities seem to prioritize this.
10. Instead, they either ignore the issue or choose policies that perpetuate or even worsen the problem.
11. While citizens’ appeals from various sources are repeatedly ignored,
12. issues of safety, transportation accessibility, and the environment are always brought up during election campaigns (so no “authority” can claim ignorance of what citizens want).
13. Finally, while local or state authorities fail to implement the law, justice seems unable to force them to do so.

It is our duty to overturn this bleak reality.

It is our duty, as citizens, to make every effort to pressure authorities to implement the obvious, rewarding those who do and condemning those who fail to act.

It is our duty to stop being indifferent.

It is our duty to participate actively.

If we want to be responsible citizens;

If our tears for every terrible accident are genuine;

If, finally, we care about our own lives and the lives of our children.

Image description: A crowd of people from yesterday’s nightly protest in Syntagma Square. They have serious expressions on their faces, are wearing black and carry black balloons or candles. In the middle, a girl holds up a cardboard sign which reads “Call me when/if you get home.”

Image source: https://www.ertnews.gr/eidiseis/ellada/pare-me-otan-ftaseis-eikones-apo-ti-siopili-diamartyria-sto-syntagma/

Greek traffic chaos

I am reposting an article, by Mr. A. Koskinas, which accurately describes the situation in Greek streets:

Aristotle, Greek tourist guide

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I’m borrowing a photo I saw here, which illustrates the daily traffic chaos in Greek streets better than any of mine.

Chaotic streets

Traffic in Greece is chaotic: drivers run red lights, make unexpected turns without signalling, squeeze their vehicles in between others, overtake without much regard of who’s in front or behind, go up one-way streets, drive on sidewalks and pedestrian streets, exceed the speed limit compulsively.

Pedestrians, on the other hand, jaywalk with complete disregard of zebra crossings and traffic lights, weave in an out of gridlocked vehicles and are often found walking in the street instead of on the sidewalk.

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What the law says

People who come to Greece often ask me whether our traffic code is so much different than those of other countries.

The answer is no.

The laws, rules and regulations are the same. We use the same traffic lights and…

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Who are we?

“Moms in the Street” is a group of mothers (and several others) interested in promoting the safety of pedestrians in Greece.

The initiative (and our name) stems from the fact that, in Greece, it is virtually impossible for a person to reach their destination on foot without walking in the street for a significant part of the distance. This is because footpaths are narrow, poorly constructed and often impassable or blocked by illegally parked cars and other obstructions. Sometimes no footpath exists at all.

We believe that the situation is inherently dangerous as it forces pedestrians to walk side-by-side with fast-moving vehicles. While this is risky even under normal circumstances, in the unregulated Greek streets, where red lights, speed limits and zebra crossings are often disregarded, this is a recipe for disaster. Approximately 21-24% of road fatalities in Greece are pedestrians. We want steps to be taken urgently, before more people are killed. 

If walking safely to one’s destination, however short, is difficult for able-bodied adults, it is nearly impossible for the elderly, for people with disabilities and for escorts of young children. Parents do not let children walk or cycle to any destination, even close to home; instead, for their own safety, children are driven to school, the playground and any activities. The disabled and the elderly are forced to rely on friends and relatives who drive. Those who have no access to a car are forced to either risk their lives daily, or limit their mobility so drastically that it may be compared to house arrest; this vastly deteriorates their quality of life and constitutes a gross violation of their rights. 

For all these reasons “Moms in the Street” believe that the issues of road accessibility and safety for pedestrians need to become a priority on both the state and local level.
To this end we try to raise awareness for the problem while also communicating our needs to the local and state authorities through letters, calls, meetings or rallies.

We can be reached at mamastodromo@gmail.com.