The mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, stressed yesterday that, to date, “80% of the commitments made at the beginning of the term” in the government agreement have been met. This was stated during a meeting attended by more than a hundred social, economic and political representatives, in which he took stock and presented “our income statement, because we want to give citizens answers about what we have done in these last four years”, emphasizing that a “great job” has been done.
“We can proudly say that 80%, knowing that for practically two years we have been subjected to the inclemencies of a pandemic that we would not have imagined in our worst nightmares,” he said, recalling the challenges it entailed and the measures aid that had to be implemented.
The event began with a video in which it was explained that, in May 2019, the local government made three major commitments that had the support of the president of the central government, Pedro Sánchez: the Northeast desalination plant, the project to restore the market municipal to its original location and the rehabilitation of houses such as Las Chumberas and El Cardonal. “Today, four years later, we can say that these commitments have been fulfilled”, he affirmed.
Thus, with regard to the Northeast desalination plant, it was explained that there is already a commitment from the Government of Spain to provide the necessary financing, and that 20 million have been allocated in the State budget for this year, pending transfer to the Autonomous Community in the near future. In addition, the project has already been approved by the Insular Water Council and the agreement that will make the execution of the work effective is in the preparation phase.
The definitive project to channel the Carnicería ravine, the first step for the recova to return to the Adelantado square, has also already been approved, and it was highlighted that the works of Las Chumberas “are already well advanced and the families will soon be able to return to their homes”, as well as that the necessary financing is already available for the actions in El Cardonal, which “will begin shortly”.
Next, a discussion began with the mayor, who addressed several of the current issues in the municipality, the most recent being the new contract with Urbaser for the waste collection and street cleaning service, which begins today. “With this improvement we can talk about efficient and effective waste collection, the use of new technologies, a renewal of the fleet and more than 5,000 new containers,” said the mayor, who recalled that “we have had significant difficulties in getting bidding for this contract, our objective was to get it out as soon as possible”.
The transfer, this week, by the Government of the Canary Islands to the City Council, of the old San Benito bus station, where “a very ambitious project” will be located, such as the future Local Police station, was also discussed. “We have commissioned, for 50,000 euros, the project from Gestur to be able to have it as soon as possible,” stressed the mayor, who also highlighted the recent incorporation of 41 new agents to the Local Police. “We were aware that many police officers were retiring and the incorporation after ten years was practically non-existent. We got to work and with the incorporation of these 41 now, plus the next ones that will arrive, there will be a leap in quality ”, he indicated.
Insole reinforcement
In this sense, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez also highlighted the work that has been done by the Presidency to incorporate “technicians and administrative assistants”, because “for a long time there has not been a public tender either, that list of jobs so necessary for the different bodies of management of our City Council and so that administrative procedures can be more agile, “he said.
The mayor also valued the achievement of works such as the Bajamar dam, which is already a reality after almost ten years, while stressing that the lagoon coast “is a potential that has yet to be discovered in this municipality” and He recalled that the recovery of the natural environment on the San Juanito promenade has been promoted, “an area of passage for migratory birds and where we have done a wonderful job.” “We have recovered those forgotten spaces because we are a municipality that is committed to sustainability and which was the first in the entire Canary Islands to decree a climate emergency and, therefore, we have been working since 2019 to recover all those spaces and win that biodiversity and natural spaces that contribute quality to citizen coexistence”, he explained.
And he highlighted, as “jewel in the crown”, the announced project of the flood park to recover the old lagoon, “identity of our municipality”. “Talking about this hydraulic work is talking about the type of urban development we want, sustainable, with green spaces, where citizens find places of recreation in the center, and this work responds to those demands,” he said. But it also supposes a “first level hydraulic work, even at a European level, because we will take the water from a cold drop or runoff to this space and then pour it into the canals of the ravines to avoid flooding and solving big problems that La Laguna could have. , and also Santa Cruz, because there is a climate change that is a reality that is there, and the administrations have to work to solve those problems ”.
Regarding mobility problems and traffic jams on the TF-5, the mayor defended that “we have bet from the beginning on this major work” which is the variant of the TF-5, because “it would completely eliminate traffic jams on the entrance and exit of La Laguna” and “save agricultural land”, having the green light from the Ecological Transition of the Government of the Canary Islands.
He recalled that a process of allegations was opened, “and we were answering all of them, the neighbors know about the project”, and that work has been done with the technicians so that “of about 200 homes that were going to be affected, as of today, hardly There are only two dozen, but this does not mean that they are going to be demolished, they will work underground and at all times we have said that if there is a possibility of saving them, we are going to do it, of course”.
burial
This work will also allow the TF-5 to be buried as it passes through La Laguna, “to eliminate that division that the municipality has, and make a great boulevard, create spaces for revitalization, and that the area of San Benito and the de Coromoto and La Villa road finally find a union”, he explained.
He also pointed out that the future bus lane is “a key alternative”, and added that “we have to look to the future betting on a guaranteed public transport service, for the elimination of combustion with the use of private vehicles”. “We believe in efficient mobility on the Island, respecting the decision of the lagoons and lagoons,” he emphasized.
“This letter of introduction is an endorsement for the citizens to continue trusting in this human group that dedicates itself body and soul to seek the progress of La Laguna,” concluded the mayor, who was “convinced that as of May we will continue in this line of commitments acquired and we will reach 100%”, all this “reinforcing the identity of each one of the neighborhoods and towns that make up the municipality”.
