Noises on the Ribera quay. The esplanade of that port area adds to the controversy that in recent weeks has engulfed the Santa Cruz Port and to capital city hall on account of the uses of port spaces. On this occasion it is the Public Services area which, after several neighborhood complaints, has verified the excess of noise in the night activity on the Ribera quay, in which the limit of permitted decibels is exceeded.
Based on the inspections carried out, from the area directed by Carlos Tarife, the Port is asked not only to implement the appropriate corrective measures, but also, until it does so, to cease the night activity that causes noise on the Ribera quay, specifically, the storage of refrigerated containers that serve passenger ships, on the aforementioned esplanade, and which are one of the sources of excess decibels, together with the night operations authorized for shipping companies on that dock.
The origin of the inspection carried out by Public Services is a file from 2016 due to neighborhood complaints about the excessive noise level on the Ribera dock. Already then it was specified that the Port should adopt provisional measures to eliminate the noise coming from the container terminal at night, in order to minimize the inconvenience until definitive solutions were adopted.
The need to modify the Special Plan of the Port in force was also concluded, since activities were being carried out at night that were not contemplated in it. Finally, the Port had to certify that the activities carried out in the area have the corresponding enabling title (license or prior communication of the Start of activity or integrated environmental authorization). Therefore, all those that do not have it should immediately cease their activity until it is legalized.
With this background, in April 2020, new measurements were made, in full confinement, taking advantage of the drastic reduction in traffic and the closure of all economic activities due to the state of alarm. In total, 20 measurements were made, all between 11:00 p.m. and 02:00 a.m. The result was that, of the total number of points evaluated, in 67% of the cases the operation of the port in the North dock exceeds the acoustic quality objectives established by law.
Noise measurements at the Ribera wharf
In February of this year a new batch of measurements was made to which DIARIO DE AVISOS has had access. In it, it is verified that the port activity and the activities that are carried out in the port area in the berthing line of the second alignment of the Ribera quay, parallel to the surfaces authorized by the Port Authority to the passenger transport companies between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., “they break the law.”
The technicians, in addition, conclude that since they are serious infractions, the corresponding sanctioning files must be initiated.
The Port Authority responded to this report by providing its own measurements, in which decibels were not exceeded. Some figures that were not taken into account by Public Services, considering that they were not carried out in representative periods of maximum port activity.
Heritage
On the other hand, Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez insisted yesterday that the administrations that own assets in Santa Cruz must invest in their recovery. Thus, in relation to the Castillo de Paso Alto, he clarified that he did not award ownership of it to the Port, when asked about its recovery, but pointed out that it is not municipal and that it must be its owner, whoever rehabilitates it.
