The central district of Santa Cruz is set to introduce regulated parking for both residents and visitors, alongside several multi-storey car parks, aimed at compensating for the loss of nearly 150 parking spaces on the streets due to the rollout of the city’s new cycling network, as announced by the local council. This personal mobility network commenced construction last December on Méndez Núñez and El Pilar streets, and has now progressed to San Sebastián Avenue.
The local authority is overseeing this initiative, which has a budget of €1.7 million and an estimated completion time of six months. The goal is to mitigate traffic and noise in the urban centre while transforming the current vehicular traffic model in favour of more sustainable options, such as cycling or scootering. However, this initiative has not been welcomed by local residents and merchants, who are witnessing the removal of parking facilities and loading areas following the expansion of the cycle lane. This prompted numerous community groups to protest on the 14th.
The council has begun discussions with the most impacted sectors to inform them of the developments. A set of meetings took place yesterday with community representatives from the centre, where the mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez (CC), emphasised that this is one of the city’s most significant projects, which “will bring about a positive transformation of the municipality.”
The councillor noted that “this cycling network is present in nearly all provincial capitals, and we are among the last to implement it. We understand it is a new concept that may be challenging to accept, but it represents a valuable opportunity.”
The Councillor for Public Services, Carlos Tarife (PP), stated, “Between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., approximately 80,000 vehicles from outside the municipality travel over the entrance bridge to Santa Cruz, and during the day, 6,000 cars pass through El Pilar street. As such, this project will revolutionise our mode of transport, enhance air quality, reduce noise levels, and enable pedestrians to walk in a more comfortable and accessible environment, benefitting local businesses in the process.”
The project drafting team has added that ongoing works will feature additional loading and unloading areas, as well as parking and charging stations for bicycles and scooters.
