- Yet another on-site inspection at Erythraia Park — progress confirmed, again
- New parking lot for 149 vehicles to “solve a major problem”
- Two separate zones, four spaces for people with disabilities, and one for optimism
- Project funded by multiple programs: Antonis Tritsis, Recovery Fund, and European LIFE 2017
Progress! (As Declared on Location, With Helmets)
In what has become a regular civic ritual, Mayor Alexis Kalokairinos and Deputy Mayor for Technical Infrastructure Giorgos Sisamakis conducted a new autopsy of progress at the Erythraia Park works site. They were joined by supervising engineer Yiannis Spyridakis and the 4th Municipal Community president Dorothea Vrouchou, who nodded at intervals as if progress could be accelerated by collective agreement.
Their verdict: the project is progressing.
And not just any project — this one includes a brand-new parking lot for 149 cars, a promise that has been echoing through Heraklion press releases like a chorus. The long-awaited solution to the city’s parking chaos now appears closer than ever, assuming one measures distance in photo ops.
The Details (Because Someone Asked Once)
The Erythraia Park redevelopment covers both western and eastern zones:
- Western section: 2 acres, 51 parking spaces for cars, 2 for buses, and 2 for people with disabilities.
- Eastern section: 2.76 acres, 90 car spaces and 4 accessible ones.
- Bonus feature: a connecting road linking the park with Erythraia Street — because the last thing Heraklion needs is another dead end.
When finished, the project will also deliver:
- A pedestrian and cycling path,
- A recreation zone parallel to Knossos Avenue,
- Green areas, walking trails, and “various activities,” still undefined but surely wholesome.
City officials assure residents that these upgrades will “significantly improve daily life and quality of living.” Residents, in turn, are likely to settle for just being able to park.
Funding Layers and Future Photos
The northern part of the project — the larger and older one — is co-financed by the “Antonis Tritsis” program and the Municipality of Heraklion, while the southern extension receives support from the Recovery and Resilience Fund, EU LIFE 2017 (Climate Change), and municipal resources.
It is, in short, a patchwork of European goodwill, local persistence, and eternal construction fencing.
When completed, Erythraia Park will combine parking, promenades, and politics — a space where Heraklion’s residents can finally stroll, breathe, and remember the day they stopped reading “the works are progressing.”
