The buses had not even begun to circulate, whose routes have been diverted to Ramón y Cajal Street in Santa Cruz, and around half an hour last Friday there was already an unusual scandal in these parts until just a few days ago. During the three quarters of an hour that this newspaper’s conversation lasted with a large group of neighbors and merchants mobilized against the changes adopted in traffic in the area, on up to seven occasions drivers were trapped by the bottleneck caused at the intersection of said street with Galcerán expressed their discomfort with a strident chorus of whistles. “If this is already the case, I don’t even want to think about what will happen when the buses from Miraflores start to go up, with that traffic light that at most five vehicles pass through. They have killed the street,” says one of those affected.
The precedent
To know the context in which this neighborhood conflict arises, we must go back to the scene that took place on Serrano Street, parallel to Ramón y Cajal although narrower (barely one lane) and where the buses that cover route 014 pass ( Santa Cruz-La Laguna via La Cuesta) has already caused repeated complaints among its residents. Precisely, and after years of struggle, the City Council finally responded to this protest by diverting the buses towards Ramón y Cajal. “We are happy for the residents of Serrano Street – those now affected agree – and we do not at all ask that the buses pass through there again, but in order to fix a problem they have caused an even bigger one,” reflects Pilar, Ramón’s neighbor. and Cajal in the part closest to the Rambla and where the presence of a public educational center like San Fernando does not help at all with the problem at hand. “The worst thing is that they have just come to install a new bus stop in front of the school,” said neighbor denounces.
Be that as it may, it was starting last Saturday that the buses began to divert towards this key artery for circulation in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, although it will be today, Monday, the first working day, when its impact on traffic will be truly appreciated. The prospects do not seem promising given that “three more have been added to the four Titsa routes that already passed through Ramón y Cajal for a total of seven,” explain the neighbors before providing a list of them. In addition to the aforementioned 014 (with a frequency of eight minutes), these are the 026 (also towards La Laguna and which runs every 20 minutes), the 137 (Santa Cruz-Tacoronte and night service), the 901 (Interchanger- Cuesta Piedra, every 20/30 minutes), 228 (Santa Cruz-Los Campitos, with frequencies ranging from 15 minutes to the hour), 971 (Intercambiador-Ofra and every hour or two hours) and 972 (Intercambiador- Cuesta Piedra, with night service every quarter of an hour).
Inefficiency
“You don’t have to be a specialist to realize that these routes actually compete with each other, which doesn’t make sense and certainly isn’t well planned,” professionals with many years of experience behind the wheel explain to DIARIO DE AVISOS. Tenerife buses. “There are clear alternatives such as diverting a route towards Benito Pérez Armas (where there is now barely a service every half hour), or also using the Viario del Barranco de Santos for those that circulate towards the La Salud neighborhood), they add to this regard.
The truth is that, without starting the flood of buses described, we must agree with these residents and merchants of Ramón y Cajal when they maintain that these changes are already causing problems that did not exist before. As anticipated at the beginning, those who want to leave Ramón y Cajal towards La Salle through Galcerán now share a lane with those who continue straight towards La Noria street, and the result is a collapse in the section at the height of Plaza Militar. You just have to sit next to its historic newsstands to see it in situ. “Both the traffic of Ramón y Cajal and that of Miraflores, the X or Vilaflor are affected,” says Jorge. If there was any doubt, another collective honk proves him right.
Noise pollution, traffic congestion and doubts about whether it can affect the safety of students leaving San Fernando. These are the three main problems that these neighbors and merchants put on the table, whose demands they have compiled in a document that they plan to present to the municipal registry this Monday. “There are other issues such as the reduction of parking spaces, which the City Council says they have compensated with those created on Alfaro Street but which in no way cover the losses with these changes,” summarizes Juan José. On this specific topic, Jorge contributes more by pointing towards the businesses at the end of Ramón y Cajal (a section that leads to the Extension of the same name after passing the intersection with Galcerán) and where the double line (that kind of popular self-management of the loading and unloading more or less tolerated if it does not harm traffic) was until now an attraction to attract customers who have lost overnight.
There is more. Another neighbor, Avelino, shows his astonishment at “the lack of information on the part of the City Council. They have imposed the changes on us without consulting us, even though they have met with residents of Serrano Street, as apparently took place. “We have requested a meeting up to five times,” he says, “and we are still waiting for the Mobility Department and the District Department.” Juan José elaborates on this given that he has “doubts about the legality of these decisions, given that we have not even had access to the file and, of course, there was no deadline for allegations. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing ended up in the games,” he adds. Jorge adds another piece of information: “As affected businessmen, we went to the Department of Commerce but, frankly, they gave us their time and were somewhat skeptical about whether we would be listened to.”
First steps
They don’t just complain. This group of citizens has mobilized to ask the municipal authorities to rectify it. In addition to the presentation of the document in which their arguments are compiled, last Friday they already filed an official claim to request the file in question and thus verify whether its processing has been correct or not.
“Among the buses, the traffic congestion that we already see has been caused, the logical transfer to and from the school plus the trucks that supply daily to the large supermarkets on the street… We think it is very good to promote public transportation, but not in detrimental to the health of the people who live in this part of Santa Cruz,” concludes Pilar.
