Footbridge opened in Taksim Square

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The nearly 70-meter-long bridge has been put into service to alleviate problems during the period of the ongoing renewal project. DHA photo

A footbridge was opened yesterday in Istanbul’s Taksim Square in order to ease pedestrian access to the square during the period of the ongoing renewal project.

Work in Taksim Square started on Nov. 5 and continues to cause significant problems for pedestrians and traffic alike. The nearly 70-meter-long bridge has been put into service from Cumhuriyet Street on the Harbiye side of the square to try to alleviate these problems.

Pedestrianization
A number of demonstrators broke through the safety walls on Nov. 6 in protest against the ongoing digging works by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The municipality has said the new footbridge will be in use until the end of the pedestrianization works, which are estimated to finish in around eight months.

Beyoğlu Mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan said the Taksim Square project was an important link in the “major transformation in Beyoğlu” chain.

“Taking the roads underneath the square [by creating tunnels] and turning Taksim into a monument that suits Turkey was not only a must for city planning, but also a demand from our nation,” Demircan told Anatolia news agency yesterday.

He also said that the bed capacity of hotels in the area had increased from 6,000 to 26,000 during his term of governance in Beyoğlu, thanks to the ongoing urban transformation in the Beyoğlu area.