Athens’ chronic traffic congestion returned to the center of government attention on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a closed-door meeting at Maximos Mansion to review proposals aimed at easing pressure on the capital’s road network.
The meeting, focused in particular on Kifisos Avenue, which is widely regarded as Athens’ most congested thoroughfare and a vital north–south corridor linking the city center with the port of Piraeus. The prominence of Kifisos in the discussion reflects public sentiment: a recent nationwide survey found that nearly one-third of residents in the greater Athens–Piraeus urban area identify the avenue as the most problematic road in Attica due to delays and gridlock.
Government officials presented a range of measures spanning short-, medium- and long-term interventions, as the administration attempts to tackle the issue of traffic management in the Attica region — an issue that opinion polls suggest has become a defining frustration of daily life.
Immediate Relief Sought, Limits Acknowledged
Among the short-term proposals discussed were measures to limit -though not fully ban- truck traffic along Kifisos during peak hours, as well as improvements in the management of everyday incidents such as accidents or vehicle breakdowns that routinely trigger cascading delays.
The focus on incremental changes comes despite mounting public concern. According to a nationwide poll conducted for public broadcaster ERT earlier this year, 70% of residents in Greece’s major urban centers describe traffic congestion as a “very” or “fairly” serious problem in their everyday lives. In Athens, where car dependency remains high, the impact is particularly acute.
The same survey found that 60% of workers in the Athens–Piraeus metropolitan area still rely on private cars, taxis or motorcycles for commuting — a pattern that continues to strain road capacity.
Medium-Term Fixes and Familiar Promises
Looking beyond immediate measures, officials also revisited medium-term proposals such as the introduction of “smart traffic lights,” a system already in use in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, where it is said to have improved traffic flow. The government is now examining whether the same approach could be applied in Athens.
Officials also reiterated projections that by the end of 2026 there will be a noticeable improvement in the frequency of public transport services across Attica; an estimate that has yet to be borne out. Polling data suggest that long travel times are already taking a toll: more than a third of workers in the Athens–Piraeus area report spending close to an hour per day commuting, while roughly one in four say their daily commute lasts between one and two hours.
Structural Changes Pushed Further Out
Long-term proposals discussed at Wednesday’s meeting addressed more structural interventions, including the construction of new bypass road axes, the completion of Metro Line 4 and the development of additional bike lanes.
These longer-horizon projects are often cited by officials as essential to addressing congestion sustainably. Yet their timelines place meaningful relief years away.
That frustration is evident at the local level as well. A December survey conducted within the municipality of Athens found that 15% of residents consider traffic congestion the city’s single most serious problem, while nearly one in three said traffic and parking should be the top priority for municipal authorities in the coming year.
Pressure for Decisions, Not Just Discussion
For many Athenians, the debate has long moved past identifying the problem. Opinion polls consistently point to congestion as a major quality-of-life problem. The open question is whether the measures now under discussion can be implemented and whether they would suffice and deliver visible, short-term improvements, or whether they will once again be absorbed into a longer cycle of studies, projections and deferred decisions.
According to the government, the proposals presented on Wednesday will now be further processed by the relevant ministries before being finalized and presented in more concrete form.
Sources: AMNA, ert.gr, politic.gr
