The new regulations only allow visiting Teide by bus

The councilor responsible for the regional area, Jose Antonio Valbuenahighlights that “the Plan will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and the natural landscape of the Teide National Park, in addition to promoting research and cooperation between the different administrations.”

The great axes.

The Deputy Minister of Territorial Planning, Miguel Ángel Pérez, details that “the Plan is structured around six general lines: conservation, public use, infrastructure, research, coordination with other administrations and relations with the environment and monitoring, evaluation and control.” Among the main objectives is the conservation of flora, fauna and vegetation; the implementation of a sustainable mobility system and control of visits; maintain, rehabilitate and adapt the infrastructure of the National Park, as well as reduce those that are incompatible with its purposes; deepen research programs in the environment and develop tools that facilitate communication between administrations.

Mobility.

The congress #Esparc22 For living protected natural spaces brought together managers and professionals from the Environmental Administration from all over Spain last week in Ronda (Málaga). During this meeting, the director-conservator of the Teide National Park, Manuel Durbán, presented for the first time the Mobility Plan that emanates from the Governing Plan for Use. Its development is parallel to the regulations of natural space and will radically change the accesses to the Park and the visit as it has been known until now. It will not be allowed to do it by private car and three service areas will be created, with underground parking and restaurants. A fleet of low-emission shuttle buses will be based at their respective interchanges, but with a high frequency of passage, since they are high mountain areas and the climate does not allow long waits, neither in summer nor in winter. The total cost of this action would exceed 90 million euros.

Director.

Manuel Durban has held the position for almost three decades. He breaks down the main lines of the new Plan for THE DAY. He details that “we are looking for a more sustainable mobility system for a natural space that 4.4 million people visit annually and that in a few years is expected to receive more than five.” This, he values ​​“is beneficial and an opportunity for the Island, but it also causes problems to conserve natural and heritage resources. It would be unsustainable to maintain the situation as it is now.” For this, he explains, “a study of the total load capacity of the park has been carried out, as well as by sectors.” The results, with a maximum capacity established at 3,000 people for the entire perimeter, widely exceeded on occasions, has led to the establishment of three large service areas with exchangers on the perimeter of the space from where shuttle buses will depart for the visit. These centers will be in Chío, Vilaflor and El Portillo Alto. Durban considers the latter to be a “highly anthropized -human footprint- and quite deteriorated” area.

Three dorsal roads cross Las Cañadas. The TF-21, from La Orotava to Las Cañadas (Portillo de la Villa) and from Vilaflor to Las Cañadas (Boca de Tauce); the TF-24, from La Laguna to El Portillo de la Villa and the TF-38 from Chío to Las Cañadas (Boca de Tauce). They will not be cut but for the visit it will be necessary to use the buses. Durban points out: «We have verified that 80% of visitors coincide between ten in the morning and two in the afternoon. We do not want to reduce the number but to redistribute them better ». They are also concentrated in five points: Roques de García, Cable Car, Pico, Minas de San José and El Portillo. Two years ago, the possible location of these centers in terms of car parks, proximity to highways, location of the interchange node, etc. was released to public information.

Durban does not want to give specific deadlines but thinks that “in a year the process should be completed” and the construction of those planned service areas would begin. The buses will depart from them to visit trails, viewpoints or other places of interest. With a departure interval of no more than twenty minutes and the possibility of going down and going back up. Apart from discretionary transportation, whose schedule would be from 9 to 5 with prior registration.

In addition to the improvement for the visitor and lowering the load, Durban values ​​the reduction of CO2: “With diesel buses similar to the current ones, up to 50%, but with hybrids 70% and with electric ones up to almost 100%”. He anticipates that “the price for residents will be symbolic and it is clear that for a Tenerife family, at the current cost of gasoline, this system will be much more profitable than going up with a private vehicle.” A final sentence: «Until now there were too many people at the same time. We want to receive the same but better distributed throughout the day.

the mountaineer

Pedro Millán is a geographer and mountaineer, as well as coordinator of the Rural Development Committee of the Spanish Mountain Federation. Last Friday in Malaga he attended the forum in which the director of the park revealed the details of the new PRUG for Teide: “My impression from the first presentation of this plan is positive,” he points out. He highlights “the great interest it aroused, since there is no precedent for an initiative of this magnitude anywhere else in Spain.” However, he recalls that “in 1999 a very similar proposal was developed that essentially proposed the same thing.”

That plan, he stresses, “was put away in a drawer and 23 years later it comes back updated.” Millán points out that “neither the former nor the latter prohibit transit on public roads, although parking does, which will no longer be possible, except at times when the bus service does not work.” Nor would he allow motorhomes to park overnight, as is the case in other natural spaces on the peninsula, which, he adds, “is beginning to be a problem in the Mount Teide».

Millán summarizes: «It is about reducing the pressure of visitors to the park, overwhelmed in the morning and midday hours; the car parks on the verge on the vegetation; emissions of polluting gases or the risk of accidents» And he adds: «Make the visit more pleasant and educational».

The mountaineer summarizes: “I think it is a good initiative from an environmental point of view. It must be applied in steps and with a certain flexibility through the experience to be developed. Millán concludes: “It is clear that we cannot continue as before, where on any given day there are so many cars that it overwhelms the capacity of this world-class natural space. We are all interested in a rational use that allows us to preserve it as well as possible to leave it to our descendants.

The environmentalist.

Jaime Coello is director of the Telesforo Bravo-Juan Coello Foundation. Defender of nature, activist and environmentalist. He values: «We agree on the shuttle initiative, especially for regulating rental vehicles, which are a problem, not only on Teide, but also on Anaga and Masca». He reasons: “Because of the large number of cars and the difficulties foreigners have to drive in the mountains.” Also, he stresses, “due to the presence of cyclists or other slow vehicles.” He sees it as positive by “regulating the buses in the time slots.”

Of the three planned areas, he assures that “we do not like El Portillo”. Coello considers that “if the philosophy is to take the vehicle out of the park, we do not understand why the car park is approaching the pre-park, which is a continuum, without separation.” He understands that “that large area should be divided into two.” One would be “close to the Aguamansa fish farm, where the La Orotava City Council has offered land.” The other, “in the surroundings of La Esperanza.” He concludes: “The 100,000 inhabitants of the North cannot be considered the same as the 400,000 of the Metropolitan Area.” He recalls that there will be one area in the North for two in the South and «it seems that they want to favor tourists. Chío and Vilaflor, very well, but also on the other side».