The Supreme Court (TS) has rejected the appeal that the Santa Cruz City Council filed against the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) that annulled the mobility ordinance of Santa Cruz.
With this ruling, the City Council is forced to reformulate a rule that, among other things, regulated the implementation of scooters in the city, but also limited the entry of vehicles for environmental reasons.
With this ruling, the city enters a regulatory limbo, given that the 1985 standard should be applied, which, in turn, is subject to subsequent ones related to accessibility in public spaces that leaves many of its articles suspended.
Yesterday, the Consistory reported that, after closing this last door to maintain the ordinance, it has decided to accelerate the updating, drafting and processing of what will be the new Mobility and Road Safety ordinance of the municipality in order to have it before of the end of this year.
The Councilor for Security, Evelyn Alonso, explained that, “although we had already been working and meeting to weave the new ordinance, now with the recent decision of the TS on a formal defect in the previous 2019 regulations, we are more committed to getting as much first a new document.
All the municipal services involved are already holding meetings to define the procedures and circumstances that may occur in this period until the new ordinance is approved, “although we have an open margin to regulate, via decree, any situation that requires an urgent solution or determination ”, Alonso specified.
Likewise, in the opinion of the municipal technicians, this process of drafting the new ordinance should be used to work, in parallel, on the regulation of the so-called low emission zones.
In addition, while the new mobility regulations are outlined, there is a municipal commitment to review the provisions that are maintained and the sanctions that had been incorporated with the now repealed ordinance. In fact, the decision has already been made to start the ex officio annulment process for those that could be affected by the decision of the TS from the date of the order, “although in our municipality 90% of the sanctions that are processed are based on in breaches of state legislation on traffic, motor vehicle circulation and road safety, so we estimate that there will not be too many cancellations from May 23,” Evelyn Alonso pointed out.
Another decision adopted by the Santacrucero Consistory, given the reality left by the paralysis of the 2019 ordinance, is to proceed to review the signage of existing parking lots on some sidewalks of the municipality that met certain requirements. Among other issues, because a general prohibition would now be in force for any vehicle to park on the sidewalks, something that will facilitate the withdrawal, for example, of Personal Mobility Vehicles (VMP) until its future regulation that intends to include limitations, concession conditions administration or registration of the same.
Just yesterday, at the municipal plenary session, the councilor insisted that the number of scooter accidents in the city, from January 2021 to date, is barely 39, ensuring that the rest of the figures that have been handled, provided by the The Department itself that it directs, “these are incidents, not accidents” and that they exceed 300. It also advanced that of the four companies that operated in the capital, only one remains, thanks to the impositions of the City Council
