Bornova Street Is Now Pedestrians

The works initiated to revitalize Bornova Street on the historical axis of Alsancak, the heart of İzmir, and to provide comfortable pedestrian access have been completed. The regulation works on the street, where vehicles can only enter at certain hours, pleased both citizens and tradesmen.

Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç SoyerPedestrianization works on Bornova Street (1469. Street) on the historical axis of Alsancak have been completed in line with the "pedestrian priority city" principle of . After the renovation works started in November last year in order to revitalize the historical street and provide comfortable pedestrian access, the street took on a completely different face. Bornova Street, with the decision of UKOME, started to serve only between 04.00-10.00 for the unloading-unloading, loading-unloading works of tradesmen and citizens. The arrangements on Bornova Street, which connects Alsancak Train Station, Kıbrıs Şehitleri Street and Kordon, also revived the trade, culture and tourism sector in the region. The regulations, which also facilitate the access of the elderly and disabled to the streets, pleased both citizens and street tradesmen.

“Renovated in line with the demand of tradesmen and citizens”

Providing information about the works, Hamdi Ziya Aydın, Head of the Department of Science Affairs of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, said, “We provided uninterrupted pedestrian access by building a raised pedestrian crossing at the entrance of Kıbrıs Şehitleri Caddesi in the Alsancak region. Alsancak region is a region where pedestrian density is very high. One of its busiest points is Kıbrıs Şehitleri Caddesi. In this context, we made an evaluation in line with the demands of our citizens and tradesmen in Bornova Street and made a project to pedestrianize and revitalize the street.”

“New attraction”

Aydın said, “This is a street of 450 meters in total. A busy street connecting Alsancak Train Station to Kordon. Within the scope of the works, the rain water and canal infrastructure was renewed by İZSU. Approximately 200 square meters of natural-looking printed concrete and 500 square meters of tiles were manufactured at the same level as the road level. We installed decorative lighting poles instead of about 40 lighting poles. We received very positive reactions from the citizens while we were doing the work. Bornova Street has been made suitable for pedestrian and disabled access. The area has also become a new center of attraction after Kıbrıs Şehitleri Caddesi. In line with the pedestrian priority city vision of our President, Tunç, we will continue to implement our pedestrianization efforts throughout the city.”

“Izmir's oldest street was very beautiful”

Restaurant manager Nihat Say said, “Bornova Street was very beautiful. It is opened to pedestrians, people can walk comfortably. It was also very good for the tradesmen. Floor coverings, lighting and infrastructure were very nice. People were not comfortable when cars passed. As a 35-year-old Bornova Street tradesman, I would like to have a clean and orderly street. This is one of the oldest and most rooted streets of Izmir. This is the street where Levantines and Greek families grew up. Our childhood was spent with them. If only it were possible, we would like them to return as well. Our street is beautiful in its current state. Thank you to the city," he said.

Bornova Street is more decent, chirpy

Serkan Yalkın, a tradesman of Bornova Street, said, “It was good that Bornova Street was renovated. Of course it was helpful to us too. It was cleaner. Vehicle traffic was a problem for us. It was more compact. It got brighter in the evenings. There were great problems here because of the lighting. Now it's chirping," he said.

Tradesman Savaş Özdile said, “It was a positive effort. People walk comfortably, it is bright at night. It's fine right now. It has become a transit route. More people are passing by now. Although it is not felt as much due to the economic crisis, its effect will be better understood when the situation improves. The street is now more decent. It became worthy of Alsancak by getting rid of the sounds of horns, hooligans and loud cars.”

“The air of the street appeared”

Izmir residents, who frequently use Bornova Street in their daily life, expressed their satisfaction with the new application. Aleyna Meraklı said, “I am very satisfied and I think that all the people of İzmir can be satisfied with this. We had a lot of difficulty even walking here before. But now everything is normal and the street air has emerged. As a woman, I feel even safer walking on this street now,” she said.

“We walk much more comfortably”

Murat Tarkan Özkanat, on the other hand, said, “Bornova Street has been wonderful in its current form. They're closed to traffic. It was very comfortable for pedestrians. Cars used to be annoying. Our expectation from the Metropolitan is that other streets are closed to traffic. In addition, the source of income for the tradesmen will be more. When there is traffic, people do not want to travel,” he said.

Burçin Baradan said that they can now walk comfortably on the street and said, “I think it was a very good practice. This place was in a terrible state when it was open to traffic before. It was very difficult to get in and out of the cars. We are definitely walking much more comfortably now. Walking with my two children is a huge advantage for me.”