A Greek mom musing about life in Greece, the crisis and everything.
This blog is dedicated to my friend, P., who lives in Germany, and whose manner became noticeably chilly after the so-called help to Greece began. Here, I'll write all those things I couldn't tell her over the phone.
This is a video of our latest action, in the pedestrianized Aiolou street:
Reports, photos and comments of those who participated can be found at the Cyclists' site, at the blog of SOS-Road Crimes (here and here) as well as in the blog of Moms in the Street (here, here and here).
The number of Greeks worried about quality of life and mobility issues is increasing. On the same day, students of the German School of Athens organised a similar event in the suburb of Maroussi. For more information, see here.
Unfortunately, all posts are in Greek, but the photos give a good idea of what happened and are not subject to the abuse of automatic translators.
Pedestrian streets are for pedestrians, right?
Well, not in Greece. They are for scooter riders who want to bypass the clogged streets, for car drivers who know that no policeman or traffic warden is going to materialize with a ticket in hand.
And what about pedestrians?
Well, they'd better learn to get out of the way fast. If not - well, it's their life.
The above scene is from Aiolou, one of the busiest shopping streets in Athens. The next one is from Themistokleous, a smaller street, but no less busy. In fourty seconds I counted 4 vehicles. How many does that make per hour? Per day?
Amazingly, there are some people who are not happy with the status quo. They get angry with passing vehicles instead of meekly moving aside. They have decided to do something to protest the situation. I'm one of those people.
Our meeting is at noon, on Saturday, February 4th, at the corner of Stadiou and Aiolou streets, in Athens (near Omonoia Metro station). There will be canvas, colors and brushes for the children to paint a better city, as well as jugglers and clowns to entertain us. There will also be a gaggle of like-minded people who are going to stop scooters and cars from entering the street. Everyone's invited. We'd be delighted if you would join us.
This is a typical pedestrian crossing in Greece.
Typically, it is blocked by parked cars and other obstacles at both ends.
People often ask me why Greeks are always jaywalking.
Well, how else can they cross the street?
