The araucaria on Paseo Domínguez Afonso will not be removed nor will it be transplanted as a result of the rehabilitation of the TF-21 surface, which joins Santa Úrsula and La Orotava, but rather a sidewalk will be built to safeguard it.
This was stated to this newspaper by the Councilor for Urban Development of the latter municipality, Narciso Pérez, who conveyed the concerns of the residents who live in the areas under construction to the insular director of Roads, Tomás Félix García, given that it is a action carried out by the Cabildo de Tenerife.
It did so during the meeting held on Friday to discuss the start of the work that includes, among other actions, the resurfacing of the two main entrances to the Villa, the Paseo de las Araucarias and the Paseo Domínguez Afonso, in addition to the Plaza de La Paz, and Benitez de Lugo and Sor Soledad Cobián avenues, in which the mayor of Santa Úrsula, Juan Acosta, also participated.
“From the government group we understand and share that the work has to adjust to road safety criteria but also that we must look for other alternatives that do not involve cutting down the trees that are in the area and in the case of the araucaria that It is found on the path that bears the name of this plant species, much more so because it is a large specimen”, declared Narciso Pérez.
That was one of the requirements that the villero government put on the table before starting the work due to the concern expressed by both the Tree Table and the opposition group Assembly for La Orotava, “and it found a lot of receptivity on the part of the Cabildo” when protecting this specimen.
“With other trees that are around the Mirador de Humboldt and that according to the Cabildo technicians do not meet the safety distance in accordance with the road safety criteria that must be applied on a road of this level, the proposal is the same”, Perez said. In this sense, he understands “that all current safety regulations must be complied with, but also that ways must be found to safeguard the plant species that exist in the area. In this case we are talking about some pine trees, eucalyptus trees and a Washingtonia palm tree that was initially planned to be cut down.”
On the contrary, the Consistory’s proposal was to make available a municipally owned plot adjacent to the Opuntia park to be able to transplant them. “Land that is part of the expansion of the park and an ideal place for it to be developed,” he stressed.
The mayor assured that on Monday he sent the Cabildo a proposal with plans and UTM coordinates supervised by municipal technicians. “Obviously, this supposes an economic extra cost on the execution of the work that the insular Administration is willing to assume,” Pérez assured.
However, Tomás Félix García clarifies that “the Cabildo will commission a technical study to study whether there is a possibility of transplanting the trees affected by the work, studying the City Council’s proposal as a possible location and based on this, possible solutions will be considered.”
In the case of Santa Úrsula there is no affected specimen.
Assembly for La Orotava presents alternatives to the project
On Monday, the Assembly for La Orotava presented a letter to the City Council and the Administrative Service of Roads and Landscape of the Cabildo that contemplates a series of measures to be incorporated into the project to avoid the massive felling of an important mass of urban trees, while improving pedestrian and road safety.
Among them, there is delimiting a space for pedestrians, placing sound strips and reflective elements, widening the shoulder without eliminating large trees, redirecting pedestrian traffic towards secondary roads, which are under municipal jurisdiction, and reducing the limits of speed.
