The mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena, will promote a set of meetings with the different actors related to the maritime connectivity of Tenerife with the rest of the western islands, as well as with the port of Los Cristianos, the epicenter of these communications. All this as an alternative to that of Fonsalía, a project conceived 25 years ago, which is located in the middle of the Special Conservation Zone, of high value, and whose environmental impact statement is expired.
“All of it –has explained Mena– It leads us to a scenario of blocking of years or decades in a process that offers no guarantee, since the social values and the criteria of the European Union itself are radically different from those of twenty-five years ago, a time of paralysis that Neither Los Cristianos, nor Tenerife nor the whole of the western islands can be allowed, since the mobility problems of the tourist city will get worse in the meantime ”.
With this scenario, he considers that “it is essential to put aside prejudices and outdated ideas and promote a constructive and realistic dialogue, which must go through an investment in Los Cristianos that allows traffic to circulate underground on Chayofita Avenue until almost the highway, generating a modern pedestrian avenue in the upper part with a transport interchange ”, he added.
The mayor explained that he will take the first step by proposing an agenda of meetings and encounters that will go from the Government of the Canary Islands to the councils of the affected islands, through the Port Authority, municipalities and associations and social organizations, in addition to the University of The lagoon. “It is essential to generate a constructive dialogue in which we find sustainable solutions, respectful of the environment and that is realistic: the environmental impact statement has expired. And that closes a very important part of the debate ”, he added.
Five ports in 25 kilometers
Mena recalled that Los Cristianos is one of the five ports in barely 25 kilometers of coastline, to which should be added that of Granadilla de Abona, which is why “it does not seem sensible” to do new, irreparable damage to an area in the one that there are alternatives and that is located in the heart of the Special Conservation Zone, with a high environmental and landscape value, such as the proposed place of Guía de Isora, a jewel from the natural point of view.
A modernization project for Los Cristianos
As for the investment in Los Cristianos, the result would be a modern boulevard at the top with a transport interchange. All this at a cost of a quarter of that of Fonsalía -40 million euros compared to the at least 200 million of the port in Guía de Isora-.
In this approach, important advances were made in the previous mandate with the government team of the Cabildo de Tenerife.
