The royal mayor praises the “bravery” of the Cabildo to resolve the TF-5 traffic jam

Last Friday, González attended THE DAY first thing in the morning, in the middle of the Northern Highway on the way to meetings in La Laguna and Santa Cruz. Personal testimony: «I am now at the height of El Sauzal and, for now, relatively well. “I travel to the capital two or three times a week and there have been worse days.”

The royal mayor appeals to the “general interest” when he is questioned about the tests carried out for ten days on link 14 of the TF-5, near Guamasa, with a provisional closure of access to the Highway that is opposed, if it is adopted definitively, by the Affected residents of this neighborhood and others in La Laguna – they are collecting signatures, they will go to the Common Deputy on the 16th and on the 17th they will gather in front of the Insular Palace –: «I think we have to talk to them, always the dialogue ahead, but It seems to me that Mobility and Highways of the Cabildo has done it this way, just as with the La Laguna City Council. Precisely, one of the first measures that the new island government took, and it seems to me one of the most correct, was to open a dialogue with all the sectors involved to seek consensus.

González makes it clear that “there are solutions with different time frames such as the one that would be provided by the works for the third lanes of the two highways, but in the meantime something had to be done because not a single decision had been made in decades and the path has begun.” , in my opinion correctly, with these first steps.

Shuttle buses

One of those first decisions within these “proactive measures”, as the northern councilor defines them, has been to establish shuttle buses that transport university students from the North. One is based in Los Realejos and González values: «The students of the municipality with whom I have spoken tell me that it is a service that they have been demanding for years and they are happy because it takes them directly to the Campus and to the door of the faculties without having to do anything. several transfers as happened before.

In relation to Los Realejos and the TF-5, Adolfo González claims “the opening of access to the Highway through the Camino del Patronato “which was closed in the previous mandate in a decision by the island government taken unilaterally and without prior notice last year without consensus with the municipality or the sectors involved.” He points out that “we spoke with the Cabildo, with its president and with the Mobility and Highways counselors, to try to reconsider that decision.” At least provisionally to avoid traffic jams that form and study longer-term solutions.

At an internal level, the mayor demands regarding traffic “a necessary connection through a fast lane with the La Gañanía Industrial Estate to avoid the queues that occur.” He considers that “it is essential to improve the traffic of heavy vehicles and alleviate mid-range areas such as La Montaña or Los Barros.”

No to restrictive measures

González is not in favor of applying restrictive measures such as restricting entrances to large urban centers, for example with a system of odd and even license plates. Faced with this, he opts for dissuasive measures such as “staggering the start of school classes.” University of La Laguna because it would remove vehicles from the highway or encourage telematic procedures. He believes that “we did not learn anything from the pandemic because the development of new technologies would help.” Also fully equip the Northern Hospital to avoid displacement of the population to the large health centers in the Metropolitan Area. He adds that “in these hospitals it would be good to stagger the hours for consultations and have them all start at eight in the morning, a rush hour in which many cars are concentrated.”

Guided transportation

Adolfo González is very clear about what the long-term future of mobility is on the Island, in the North and in his municipality: guided transportation. He explains it: «The Northern train that has been talked about a lot and then stopped. “You have to have courage to face a technical analysis with guarantees and, above all, the cost that will be high.” He defends it as a system “that consumes less territory, punctual and accurate for the user. “There is the future.”

The mayor of Los Realejos understands that “finally something concrete is being done to at least alleviate traffic congestion.” He believes that “in the short term it was essential to take measures and it is being done.” Adolfo González concludes with a reference to the tests at the Guamasa link with the TF-5: «It is impossible to please everyone and there must always be dialogue, but the premise has to be the defense of the general interest. And there courage plays a key role in making decisions as the Cabildo has done.