The municipality, having approved its first Sustainable Mobility Plan in 2023, can now apply for European funds, including the 1.5 billion euros that other municipalities have accessed since 2021 with this document.
Rubens Ascanio Gómez, councillor and co-spokesperson for Unidas se puede, believes that La Laguna has regressed to 2018 in terms of sustainable mobility. This is evident not only from the reduction in the area and financial contributions for it during this term, but also from what he perceives as a significant decrease in actions and initiatives related to this agenda.
He recalls that between 2019 and 2022, Mobility Week and Car-Free Day were significant dates on the local calendar. “There was a progressive government that placed sustainable mobility at the centre of local policies, implementing a robust official agenda, beyond providing sporadic support to actions promoted by local associations—which is commendable but affects only a limited number of people.”
He explains that during a term impacted by a major health crisis and its effects, the first Urban Sustainable Mobility Plan (PMUS) was approved with extensive community participation. Forgotten bicycle parking facilities were reinstated, an extensive programme promoting cycling was established alongside the Bicycle Table, and the use of bicycles was actively encouraged. Furthermore, the number of educational centres within the Stars Network increased, pedestrianisation of Heraclio Sánchez was advanced, and the metro minute initiative was implemented to promote walking. A significant effort was also made to improve urban mobility with studies on bus shelters, involving community input to design enhancements for urban buses, which informed the new active contract.
Ascanio notes that the current PSOE-CC local government now has projects we dreamed of in 2019, such as the participatory design of the first Low Emission Zones and the technical layout of a thirty-kilometre cycling lane network. “Look at the challenges we faced—staff shortages and delays in funding—but we worked tirelessly seeking solutions with community groups.”
He highlights existing progress, such as the work undertaken and the accomplishments within the Walking Cities Network, where we became the first Canary Island municipality to join, as well as technical forums focused on defending sustainable mobility, conducted in collaboration with the University of La Laguna. He believes that during this term, there is a palpable “disinterest, not just due to a lower number of actions or the commitment to policies counter to mobility, such as road expansions that have been the central topic during Mobility Week, advocated by the current mayor of La Laguna.” He details instances like the return of over 800,000 euros in funds intended for developing the municipal bike rental system, which was entrusted to Sagulpa, and the minimal utilisation of the Mobility Plan.
They believe that attempting to revert the Low Emission Zones to their initial state, continuing to favour policies of more parking spaces and roads, such as the TF5 variant or the La Gorgolana tunnel “are mistakes, but failing to take advantage of having the First Sustainable Mobility Plan approved—which allows access to a portion of the 1.5 billion euros the Government has made available to municipalities with this document over the past five years—is a crime.”
The councillor from Unidas se puede sees a lack of courage in developing actions for Sustainable Mobility. “We left all the tools that we would have liked to have had in 2019; now what is lacking is the will to demonstrate that better mobility can be achieved, which involves facilitating viable alternatives to personal vehicles,” he explains. He believes that, fundamentally, “the discourse of extremists is being embraced, those who deny climate change or use falsehoods as the basis of their ideology, and that only amplifies the problem.”
