Yes, let's have a chat about the motorway. If you are reading this, then you have obviously read through the rest of the blog. Thank you for that. A pet hate of mine is people leaving comments who clearly haven't even read the first page, or even paragraph, of the story. But you have read it all, so I feel I can talk to you as somebody who is actually interested in the subject. Plus I had a few more pictures from the top of the Polemi Mountain which I wanted to show. They didn't really fit in with the main theme of the blog so I will use them here. They start with a view of Polemi, and move clockwise to the water tower, Kallepeia, the B7 and Stroumpi.

You see, I have a bit of a confession to make: I actually kind of like the idea of the motorway. When I say I, I mean, me, Dominic, as opposed to "Paphos Life". The official company line is agnostic-please-buy-some-advertising, which is honest if not hugely ethical. But I, as a resident of Polemi, would actually find the motorway quite useful.

The other day there was an accident on the B7. It happened near picture 59, which was the low one near the Petrol Station. A lorry overturned, somehow, and shed its load across the entire road. Unfortunately, it was carrying sand, as opposed to ping pong balls, so it took a long time to clear up, and the whole B7 was closed in both directions.

As a result of this, B7 traffic was diverted through Polemi, along the Kallepeia Road and up to Tsada. The road from Polemi to Kallepeia can barely cope with one big lorry. Imagine the mess when big lorries are trying to drive down it in both directions. It was chaos.

If you are going to widen the B7, you will first of all have to widen the road from Polemi to Kallepeia. It cannot cope, as it stands, as a replacement route for the B7 for any length of time.

Also, that B7 goes through some pretty steep hills. Widening the road is not a trivial matter. You cannot just use the spare wasteland, because that is what crumbles when it rains.If you build on that, it will collapse in the next winter. So the only alternative would be to dig away more of the hill. I am sure the hilltop residents along the B7 would appreciate that!

And another thing, I was driving back to Polemi, and was going past the Asprokremmos Dam. It was 4:45 and just entering what passes for Rush Hour in Paphos. I thought how nice it would be if I could just turn right and take the motorway all the way up to Stroumpi.

So yes, I actually like the idea!

And I think it will help the villages too. A big problem Cyprus has is Village-Flight, for want of a better phrase. Younger families are leaving the villages to live in the city. The motorway will allow more people to stay in the villages and commute. Given the increasing price of property in Paphos and Limassol, this can only be a good thing.

Progress happens. Look at this mobile phone mast. I assume that is what it is, anyway. And the electricity pylons. There have been a lot of them in this blog. I certainly wouldn't want to live under one. Noisy buggers. But we accept them as part of modern life. The same is true of motorways, bypasses and other stuff that is new and changes what we are comfortable with. In time we adapt, and benefit from them. Who for instance would drive to Limassol without using the motorway now? You can't in fact, as the other road is closed. The only sensible route is via the A6. Imagine how chaotic it would have been had the old Limassol Road closed and there had been no motorway.

You, of course, may have an entirely different opinion. Feel free to discuss it. If you have read this far I am confident we will be able to debate the topic in an enjoyable and civilised fashion.