Athens will be getting new and refurbished hotels, enhanced public transport and better organized facilities because of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
The traffic-plagued city will get two new main highways, one cutting north and south, another stretching from west to south.
The old marathon race route linking Athens to its eastern coast will be widened and repaved, easing access to the city’s burgeoning suburbs.
But in addition to these changes Athens 2004 organizers have to deal with changing attitudes of its citizens honed by years of dealing without urban planning. Because of a lack of parking spaces, Athenians regularly park their cars on sidewalks, curbs, and occasionally in the middle of the street.
Buses and trolleys are rarely on time and instead people cram into their own cars or taxis, which often carry multiple fares.
Officials are hoping to get people to abandon their cars and use a new fleet of buses, a suburban rail line, metro extensions and a seaside tram, all planned for 2004.
There have been claims that the Games have destroyed many of the city’s few remaining open spaces, but government officials deny the charges, saying that many sports venues are being built in some of the city’s more rundown areas.
Officials are also clearing the city of thousands of billboards that blocked views of its monuments, including the Acropolis.
The city’s main parks are being cleaned and replanted, and all Olympic venues will be landscaped.
Olive, laurel and cypress trees – indigenous to the area – will be among the trees planted.
Critics say the Olympics will put Greece into the red and claim the cost of the Games will surpass the government estimate of $4 billion (U.S.).
