Sí Podemos runs out of support for a popular consultation on mobility

The first reason for the withdrawal of the initiative, clarify sources from Sí Podemos Canarias, has been “Not accept the amendment to the totality presented by the Government group (Cs-PSOE)”. In this sense, they value that “the rest of the political groups do not want to support a process of real citizen participation on sustainable mobility.” In that consultation, “the information adapted to the daily problems of each of the 31 municipalities of the Island” would be collected.

independent report

The purple at the island level understand that “the government team, CC and PP do not support the idea of ​​an independent and professional report on the economic and social profitability of the South train project.” However, they explain below that “when we talk about another matter, such as the case of waste, there is indeed interest in carrying out this type of study to carry out their projects.

Nor do they support the rest of the political groups of the Cabildo «effective short-term solutions, based on sustainable mobility, such as promoting the bus-HOV lanes or improving the public bus service». They insist that the expansion of the latter “would allow reaching the different population centers distributed in high areas, midlands and the coast.” Summary of Sí Podemos Canarias: «It seems that the interest is to continue having the Island of Tenerife with traffic jams to justify the construction of new roads or the expenditure of 2,500 million euros on a train».

Finally, they reject “that we are denied the possibility of having access to the partial deliveries that are being made of the Island Plan for Sustainable Mobility, since we do not have the information that the Island Government is handling in those drafts.” Sí Podemos Canarias defends that all the political groups of the Cabildo, as well as the population of Tenerife, “must be aware of these data.” For all these reasons, “we have decided to withdraw the motion” they conclude.

In this initiative, now withdrawn, the political group demanded that the Cabildo “involve the citizens of Tenerife in the design of sustainable mobility for the Island”. It would be through a “real” participatory process developed in the 31 municipalities to discover solutions in favor of the sustainable mobility model “that Tenerife needs” with a starting point in the specific needs of each locality. The counselor and spokesperson, María José Belda, also requested that the Island Plan for Sustainable Mobility include a “serious and independent” study to analyze the economic and social profitability of the Southern train.

Participation

Belda defends that citizen participation must be taken into account in the configuration of the Island Plan for Sustainable Mobility, which is now in the process of being drafted. The counselor of the left-wing formation also highlights that, until now, “the role of citizens in relation to the design of the sustainable mobility model for the coming years has been irrelevant.”

Sí Podemos Canarias consequently claims that “this situation must be reversed.” As an argument, he states that “the Tenerife society deserves to be listened to because it knows the daily reality and the mobility problems of the different nuclei.”

The group proposes the intervention of the University of La Laguna when preparing the requested report on the viability of the southern train». The insular spokesperson recalls: “It is important that the population of Tenerife knows if such a large expense could mean a hole in the public coffers for the coming decades.” Even more “if it did not respond to the needs of the nuclei.”

María José Belda reflects: “We suspect that the government team already handles certain contents of the document of the Insular Plan for Sustainable Mobility that the rest of the political forces of the insular corporation do not have.” And she concludes: “Neither do we know them in the Cabildo nor can they be consulted by the citizens.”