The need for Attica to finally adopt a unified metropolitan plan to tackle traffic, with clearly defined responsibilities, secured funding and a specific timetable for the necessary measures, was highlighted by Attica Regional Governor Nikos Hardalias, who said the Region was ready to take on the central coordinating role.
Speaking in the session “Attica Traffic: Challenges and Prospects” at the sixth Green Deal Greece 2026 conference, organised by the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) and economix.gr at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, Mr Hardalias said the current fragmentation of responsibilities and lack of unified strategic planning made it impossible to tackle effectively the serious problem that affects around 4.5 million residents of the Attica Basin every day.
As he stressed, despite the significant efforts being made by the government, the relevant ministries and the organisations involved, there is still no metropolitan mechanism to coordinate individual initiatives and plan the necessary infrastructure over a 10-year horizon.
“The Attica Region may not currently be responsible for tackling traffic, but it is asking to take on that responsibility. We are not hiding and we are not seeking office. We simply want to be useful”, Mr Hardalias said, making clear that this request went hand in hand with a commitment to meaningful cooperation with the relevant ministries, transport operators, local authorities and the scientific community. He also stressed that taking on such a critical responsibility would require the corresponding institutional and financial safeguards.
“In 10 years, we will all be stuck in our cars”
The Regional Governor’s warning about how traffic congestion could develop in the coming years, if comprehensive planning is not put in place promptly, made a particular impression. “Ten years from now, we will all be stuck in our cars; no one will be moving, and journey times will have doubled unless drastic measures are taken”, he said, seeking to convey the scale of the challenge facing Attica.
He went on to say that the Attica Basin was undergoing a period of strong economic and residential growth, contributing 48% of the country’s GDP, with major projects and investments gradually reshaping the urban landscape.
In this context, he referred, among other things, to the redevelopment of Elliniko, the relocation of government services to the PYRKAL site, the “AENAON” Metropolitan Park at Faliro Bay, as well as numerous other projects under way.
As he noted, all these developments are creating new travel needs and adding to traffic, yet there is currently no central body assessing their combined future impact and coordinating the necessary extensions to the metro, tram, suburban railway and bus networks in good time.
“Who is planning, at metropolitan level, how to respond to the traffic volumes we will have to deal with in 10 years? The answer is no one”, he said, clarifying that he recognised the measures already being taken but believed they were not enough without a permanent mechanism for comprehensive planning.
The Regional Governor was nevertheless keen to acknowledge the significant initiatives taken in recent years to improve urban public transport and address traffic problems.
As examples, he cited measures launched between March and June 2025, including “the introduction of 125 new electric city buses, 15 model bus routes, 14 trainsets on ISAP Line 1, the pilot introduction of 24-hour public transport services, as well as tougher enforcement of traffic rules and penalties for violations”.
He stressed that these were “excellent steps in the right direction”, but were not enough on their own to meet the increased demand on the transport network expected over the next decade.
The key question, he said, was who would anticipate future pressures in good time, plan the necessary measures and coordinate all the organisations involved, so that current efforts could form part of a comprehensive, long-term plan.
“Each municipality cannot plan urban mobility on its own”
Referring to the current fragmentation of responsibilities, he argued that traffic could not be tackled through individual decisions by ministries, municipalities and transport operators, without common planning and coordination.
“Each of the 66 municipalities cannot plan urban mobility in its own area through its Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans. When every municipality tries to address traffic congestion in its area on its own, the problem is often shifted to neighbouring municipalities.
Attica’s road and transport network is a unified system that requires coordination across municipal boundaries. If Mesogeion Avenue becomes gridlocked, the effects will be felt as far away as Poseidonos coastal avenue”, he said. As examples of metropolitan-level organisation, he cited the wider Paris and London areas, where regional planning links transport with broader urban development policies.
The Region’s major responsibilities and the need for adequate funding
According to figures presented by Mr Hardalias, the Attica Region is currently responsible for road safety across a network of 1,623 kilometres—a distance comparable to that between Athens and Vienna—and for maintaining 157 bridges, 12,780 traffic lights, 3,592 pedestrian crossings, 14 underpasses, 38,291 streetlights and 610 kilometres of safety barriers, equivalent, for example, to the distance from Athens to Sofia.
He also drew particular attention to the disproportionate financial burden involved in maintaining all this existing infrastructure, noting that 73% of the Region’s Public Investment Programme is allocated to inflexible spending, mainly related to the needs of maintaining the road network.
Mr Hardalias also announced that the Attica Region would formally present its positions and proposals in the coming period for addressing the institutional and operational problems that hinder effective traffic management.
TEE and transport planners back Hardalias’s proposal
The Regional Governor’s proposal for the Attica Region to take on metropolitan-level coordination was also backed by the President of the Technical Chamber of Greece, George Stasinos, who said that having a single body was essential to prioritising measures and making effective use of available funding.
“I agree with the Regional Governor that the Region should be the body coordinating traffic, with all of us supporting it”, he said, adding that TEE would use its technical and scientific expertise to support whoever took on this responsibility.
In the same vein, the President of the Hellenic Association of Transport Engineers, Thanasis Tsianos, recalled that creating a metropolitan body had been the Association’s longstanding position for at least 25 years. He also expressed satisfaction with the Regional Governor’s public statement that, despite not currently having the relevant responsibilities, he was willing to take the initiative in coordinating the organisations involved and advancing specific solutions.
For his part, Petros Souretis, an authorised adviser to GEK TERNA, spoke of the need for immediate measures and strategic planning for major road projects, saying that effective planning could also make it substantially easier to secure funding. “If the planning is done properly, the money is there. There is money for maintenance, and there is money for projects, new projects and construction”, he said.
The conference session was chaired by journalist Tasos Telloglou.