The Municipality of Puerto de la Cruz organizes between the 12th and 18th of this month a citizen consultation to decide whether the castle beachone of the three coves that make up Garden Beachbecomes the first smoke-free bathing area in Cross port. The councils of Citizen Participation, Health and Beaches promote this participatory process, through the web platform participates.puertodelacruz.esso that those over 16 years of age residing in the municipality decide whether smoking is prohibited on the entire beach, on half of it or, on the contrary, it continues to be allowed.
To be able to vote in this consultation it is necessary to be over 16 years of age, be registered in Puerto de la Cruz and previously register on the aforementioned platform. For the Councilor for Citizen Participation, Maria Jesus Hernandez (ACP)this initiative supposes «giving a qualitative leap in the involvement of Porto’s citizens in political decision-making and turning the participa.puertodelacruz.es website into a real decision-making tool, in which public debates have already been promoted for months”.
The mayor of Health and Beaches, Alberto Cabo (ACP)encourages citizens to “participate in this initiative to improve the quality of beaches, promote health and healthy lifestyles, and pollution reduction on our coast».
With this consultation, Puerto de la Cruz intends to “join the example of numerous coastal municipalities throughout the country, including several in the Canary Islands, which have already created smoke-free beach areas as a result of the call for citizen consultationsin order to protect health and the environment.
On the 16th, a day will be organized to remove cigarette butts from the sand in this area of the coast
The Citizen Participation area will also promote a cigarette butt collection activity in the Castle area next Friday, September 16. This activity will collaborate with the Training Plan in Alternation with Employment (PFAE) of Community Dynamization and volunteers from the northern municipality.
In Spain there are smoke-free beaches in communities like Catalonia, Galicia, the Balearic Islands or Valencia, and also in the Canary Islandswhere the island of Gran Canaria is a pioneer in the eradication of smoke from bathing areas, with smoke-free beaches in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Mogán, Agüimes, Gáldar or Arucas, towns where (except for Mogán) They organized several previous citizen consultations such as the one that is now being considered in Puerto de la Cruz.
