Starting today, the City Council of Santa Cruz, in collaboration with the Cabildo and Ports of Tenerife, will initiate pilot trials until Sunday to establish and assess the effectiveness of the bus lane towards Las Teresitas, commencing from the Fishing Dock to the main beach of the capital.
This service will be in operation from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and the experimental route will be under surveillance through cameras. Users of this route are kindly requested to adhere to the signalling and the designated lane, to facilitate the comprehensive evaluation of the initiative.
The primary aim of this project, which involves the participation of Titsa, is to encourage beachgoers to opt for public transportation in order to alleviate congestion during weekends and holidays.
The Mobility Councillor, Evelyn Alonso, reiterated yesterday that, “should the measure prove ineffective, it will be discarded in favour of exploring alternative solutions. However, it must be acknowledged that the existing infrastructure poses limitations and leaves very few technical alternatives to prevent traffic congestion towards San Andrés.”
The Mobility Director, Ofelia Manjón, stated that yesterday’s technical meeting “was instrumental in preparing the entire operational setup for the forthcoming days of this trial project, with the aim of collecting data and validating the department’s and Titsa’s current observations.” She further noted, “The objective is to ease traffic towards the beach, which witnesses an average daily ridership of 7,000 bus passengers, contrasted with an average of 12,000 vehicles heading from the fishing dock towards the bathing area, with many of them having only a single occupant.”
On the other hand, Gladis de León, Security Councillor for the Anaga district, highlighted that “the goal is to mitigate the situation in San Andrés arising from the congestion that occurs at the town entrance whenever the weather is pleasant. Therefore, the trial will involve reducing the section of the highway from the dock roundabout to the town’s colourful bridge from two lanes to one.”
Meanwhile, the representative from Titsa mentioned that, “at present, opting for public transport to Las Teresitas is unappealing, since buses can be stuck for over 40 minutes at the entrance to San Andrés. Consequently, the frequency of line 910 will be enhanced, along with lines 946 and 947.”
