The Minister of Management of the Natural Environment and Security, Isabel García, indicates that “the Operational launched during the nights of Thursday and Friday passed to control access to Teide National Park because of the phenomenon of the Perseids it has worked. He adds that, given experience, “it could be applied in other circumstances such as the presence of snow in the winter months, which also tends to generate an excessive influx of visitors.”
Access was cut off, explains the counselor, “when the car parks were filled with cars.” García values: “The planning has been done based on criteria of vehicle load capacity.” He understands that “the device has worked well within the circumstances that can be generated on the island’s summits.”
García points out: «In other years this astronomical event has caused collapses in the roads leading to the park, sometimes with circulatory chaos and risk for the population and the protected natural space itself. Evaluates: “On this occasion, despite receiving thousands of people for two nights, the access controls have been dissuasive when the load capacity was already exceeded”, And summarizes: “The result has been a total fluidity in the roads. access to the Park ».
Isabel García underlines: “This activity can cause many damages in the protection of the territory, since thousands of people move to the National Park in a very short period and their attitude once there, in many cases, is not responsible.”
Therefore, he concludes, «With the experience of the operation, we will improve in planning and forecasting the occupation of the territory, in addition to generating awareness in the population. The control points in the Perseidas 2021 were established in the TF-21 at the height of La Caldera, in La Orotava; the TF-24 through La Esperanza, the Vilaflor road and the access through Guía de Isora.
Thursday night was the busiest. At 10:00 p.m., the access control to the Park was established and many vehicles had to turn around, with the parking spaces clogged. On Friday the activity was much less and it was only necessary to limit the accesses by the road that connects Arafo with the summit, the TF-523.
