The Northern Highway (TF-5) has been suffering from traffic jams for more than 30 years that despair the more than 226,000 inhabitants of the 15 municipalities from this part of the island. The more than 187,000 vehicles registered in this region find in the TF-5 a bottleneck that continues to strangle their quality of life and their economic and social development. The set of factors and inactions that are detailed below help to understand the reason for the eternal queues on a highway that has hardly changed in the last 40 years.
pending works.
The third lane of the North highway between La Orotava and Los Rodeos airport, which would be used for buses, taxis and vehicles with high occupancy (HOV), is the work that the North is waiting for in order to put an end to queues and encourage really, public transport. It is still in the drafting phase despite the fact that it has been talked about for years. Also, there are other complementary works that could help mitigate the problem: the bypass of La Laguna and the closure of the insular ring, fundamentally.
The northern population increased by 37,000 people in 34 years but the TF-5 was not expanded or improved
The population increase.
The population of the North of Tenerife increased by 37,000 people since the start of the queues at the TF-5. According to the data on the historical evolution of the population of the municipalities of the Archipelago, prepared by the Canary Institute of Statistics (Istac) Based on the official figures from the INE, this growth, similar to incorporating the entire population of a municipality such as Los Realejos (36,405 inhabitants), is concentrated in Acentejo, Valle de La Orotava, San Juan de la Rambla, La Guancha and Icod of the Wines. With 37,000 more inhabitants than in 1988, the Northern highway remains exactly the same, between La Orotava and La Laguna, as it was 40 years ago.
A growing mobile fleet.
On the island of Tenerife there are 828 vehicles for every 1,000 inhabitants, of which more than 187,000 are located in the North. Of those 828, 566 are passenger cars. There are 532,509 passenger cars on the island (not counting buses, trucks, vans, motorcycles or other types of vehicles), which if they lined up would not fit on the island’s roads. At an average of four meters, they would occupy 2,130 kilometers and on the entire island there are barely 1,550 kilometers of roads. If they lined up, the cars would arrive from Santa Cruz to Barcelona.
rush hours.
A recent mobility survey of the Cabildo de Tenerife points out that on the TF-5 there is a movement from the north towards the metropolitan area that between six and eight in the morning generates 4,200 vehicles per hour. Every day there are sections through which between 110,000 and 113,000 vehicles pass. The current configuration of the motorway is incapable of absorbing that volume of traffic and the traffic jams on work and school days in the University of La Laguna require more than an hour to travel the route between La Orotava and Santa Cruz. Between 7:00 and 9:00 the entry times for thousands of jobs in the public and private sectors in the metropolitan area coincide; the start of classes in schools, institutes and universities; medical appointments and tests in hospitals, and many appointments in various public organizations located mainly in Santa Cruz.
The centralization.
Despite the fact that electronic administration is advancing a little more each day, there are still numerous procedures for which it is still necessary to travel to Santa Cruz de Tenerife during office hours. It occurs with the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), which does not have decentralized offices in the North, and other regional and state public bodies, fundamentally. Many oppositions, traffic exams and other mass tests such as the EBAU, are also usually organized in centers in the metropolitan area.
The hospitals.
The Hospital Universitario de Canarias (HUC) is the reference center for the 226,000 inhabitants of the 15 municipalities in the North. Despite repeated complaints and some attempts made by the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Canary Islands Government in the previous mandate, thousands of patients residing in the North continue to be summoned first thing in the morning to attend specialist consultations. It is also still being forced to go to the HUC for certain analytics that have not been decentralized, as well as queries. Instead of moving a doctor for consultation or a team of a few people to extract samples to the North, in a direction without traffic problems in the early morning, hundreds of patients are forced to get into a traffic jam of more one hour to receive this attention, which usually last a few minutes. The so-called Hospital del Norte, located in Icod de los Vinos, has eliminated some trips to the HUC, but it still cannot be considered even a hospital center.
The University of La Laguna.
The University of La Laguna (ULL) is the only institution that could put an end to the queues for the TF-5 immediately. For decades, traffic jams have disappeared or been significantly reduced when there are no classes at the ULL or students are in exam period. Despite pressure from the Cabildo de Tenerife in the previous mandate, the ULL has always refused to modify the schedules of its classes or to implement alternative systems such as online classes at peak hours. The decentralization of powers has not even been considered. The problem is centered, fundamentally between 8:00 and 9:00. A possible solution would be to apply theoretical classes online from 8:00 to 9:00 and that students be given a margin of between 45 and 60 minutes to travel to face-to-face classes from 9:45 or 10. :00. Some teachers would have to extend the end of their day some days between 45 and 60 minutes.
On the island of Tenerife there are 828 vehicles for every 1,000 inhabitants, more than 187,000 in the North
Public transport.
The North train project, which was supposed to solve the historical problem of queues, has lagged behind and, as in so many other actions, the South is taking advantage. The tramway, which if it reached Los Rodeos and there was a car park could absorb some of the flow of people who arrive every day from the North, has remained in Santa Cruz and La Laguna. The Titsa buses, although frequencies and prices have improved, are not a comfortable or efficient alternative because for 30 years they have suffered exactly the same queues as the private vehicle.
Going by bus does not give any advantage beyond the current savings due to high fuel prices, and at peak times it is common to spend more than an hour standing or sitting on the ground because Titsa’s vehicles are full. Population dispersion and the lack of urban public transport are another added problem. The third lane of the TF-5 from La Orotava to Los Rodeos airport is to be used as an exclusive lane for buses and High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV), which are normally those with two or more people on board.
Low occupancy.
In the aforementioned mobility survey of the Cabildo de Tenerife, it is detailed that at rush hours the average occupancy of the vehicles that circulate on the TF-5 is 1.3 passengers, so that around 85% of the vehicles They circulate with only one person inside. From Alisios Norte it is pointed out that in recent times there has been a cultural change that aggravates the problem of traffic jams: many students have stopped carpooling. In the 1990s, it was common for groups of 4 or 5 students to share a car and fuel costs. In the previous mandate, an attempt was made to promote it, but this group emphasizes that it would be necessary to launch incentives and applications that promote carpooling, especially among students and workers “who go to the same place and have the same schedules.”
The fear of telecommuting.
Despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic showed that it was possible to work from a distancein the vast majority of companies there is an atavistic fear of teleworking. Presentism triumphs and instead of encouraging work by objectives, the present body continues to be rewarded and workers residing in the North are punished with daily queues of between one and two hours.
Unpredictable traffic jams that force them to leave their homes between two and three hours before the start of their work hours. There are cases of workers who leave the North at five in the morning to sleep in their vehicles until 8:00, which is when they have to go to work.
political priorities.
The tails of the TF-5 began to be a serious problem more than 30 years ago. In the 90s of the 20th century it was already necessary to spend more than an hour for a journey that would normally take 25 minutes. Since then, tens of thousands of people have lost part of their lives stuck in traffic jams and no government of the Tenerife Cabildo or the Autonomous Community has managed to solve the problem or apply effective measures against traffic jams that not only do not improve, but also tend to to get worse For a few years now, Northerners have also suffered queues on their way back to the North on the TF-5, especially on Fridays at noon.
This motorway registers daily traffic figures that exceed 110,000 vehicles
‘Lagunacentrism’.
Although the queues are suffered by the inhabitants of the 15 municipalities in the North, between Tacoronte and Buenavista, the only important works that have been carried out to try to reduce the queues have focused on the municipality of La Laguna. The old Padre Anchieta roundabout was refurbished and a second action is already underway in the same area.
The work that is expected to start earlier is the La Laguna bypass. While other projects have been considered for La Laguna, such as the outer road, the third lane of the North highway from La Orotava to Los Rodeos airport is still in the drafting phase.
The resignation.
More than 226,000 people reside in the 15 municipalities in the North of Tenerife, almost a quarter of the island’s population. Its 15 municipalities are 48% of the island total. Despite its population and political importance, the region has lived for decades in the queues of the highway with absolute citizen, political and business resignation. Rarely have voices been raised against the biggest and oldest traffic problem in the Canary Islands, and those complaints have always been timid, fleeting and useless. In 2017, almost 11,000 signatures were gathered demanding urgent action, they were presented to the competent institutions, but there was no response.
