The Municipality of Hersonissos is pushing a package of road and access improvements around the former American Base at Gournès, where schools, public services, research facilities, and new development increasingly share the same space.
- The municipality is seeking safer access around schools and other major facilities at the former American Base.
- Plans include better arrangements for school buses, student drop-off and pick-up areas, and pedestrian access.
- Changes to the environmental approval for the Old National Road between Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos include redesigned road connections and new roundabouts.
- The area is preparing for further development, making traffic management and road safety increasingly important.
“From the very beginning, we sought to treat the area of the former US Base as a unified activity hub,” noted Hersonissos Mayor Zacharias Doxastakis. “Our continuous, well-documented interventions aim to improve daily life and enhance safety. The infrastructure upgrades and school access improvements prove our dedication to protecting the public interest, securing our students’ safety, and elevating overall quality of life.”
A Lot More Than an Old Military Base
The former American Base at Gournès is no longer simply a former military installation.
Today, the area brings together public services, schools from kindergarten through secondary education, a municipal nursery, research and community facilities, visitor attractions and new development projects.
That makes everyday traffic considerably more complicated.
Hundreds of students and parents use the area every day, along with employees, residents, visitors, and school buses.
The Municipality of Hersonissos says improving access and road safety has therefore become a priority.
Schools Are a Particular Concern
One of the main areas being addressed is how students actually get to and from school.
The municipality has submitted proposals on operating the school complexes, including safer arrival and departure arrangements, designated areas for boarding and alighting buses, better organization of school-bus traffic, and improved pedestrian access.
The objective is fairly straightforward: prevent the morning and afternoon school rush from becoming a daily traffic puzzle.
More Roundabouts, Better Connections
Changes to the environmental approval for the section of the Old National Road between Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos also incorporate improvements to road connections, junctions and pedestrian routes in the area.
The proposed interventions include new roundabouts at key points of the road network, improved access to the former American Base and redesigned pedestrian routes.
The municipality says these changes should improve traffic flow while making pedestrian movement safer.
Planning for What Gournès Is Becoming
Mayor of Hersonissos Zacharias Doxastakis says the municipality is treating the former American Base as one interconnected area rather than a collection of separate facilities.
That means planning roads, schools, public services, and new development together rather than waiting for traffic problems to appear.
And Gournès is changing quickly enough for this to matter.
More activity means more cars, more buses, more pedestrians, and more pressure on infrastructure that was never designed for today’s mix of uses.