Urban mobility in the capital of Tenerife is set to undergo a radical transformation imminently. The historic visit of the Pope to Tenerife, officially scheduled for Friday 12th June, has compelled the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council to devise an unprecedented traffic contingency plan. With the firm aim of mitigating the anticipated congestion of the city’s main arteries and prioritising public transport, local authorities have mandated the introduction of preferential lanes, the perimeter closure of strategic access points, and strict parking restrictions.
This extraordinary protocol will disrupt the usual movements of thousands of citizens who access Santa Cruz’s bustling centre daily from the metropolitan municipalities in the north and south. The municipality has warned that the strictness of these measures is in line with the stringent international criteria imposed by national security forces for the transport of the papal entourage of Pope Leo XIV.
Visit of the Pope to Tenerife: New Mandatory Bus Lanes
The backbone of the new traffic plan focuses on the local road network. To ensure the smooth operation of public buses and the transport of pilgrims, the right lane of Avenida Tres de Mayo will be converted into an exclusive route for public transport. This emergency measure will be implemented in the upward direction, covering the entire stretch from Glorieta Manuel Bethencourt del Río to Turboglorieta del Rotary Club, the critical point linking directly to the exit branches towards the Southern (TF-1) and Northern (TF-5) motorways.
Additionally, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council has confirmed that Fomento Street, located near the Transport Interchange, will also feature a reserved platform with similar exclusive characteristics. Both of these unique routes will remain operational and monitored 24 hours a day on 12th June, prohibiting access, stopping, or circulation of any type of private utility vehicle.
Closure of the TF-4 and Access Prohibition from Dawn
The most severe restrictions will directly affect the flows connecting the motorways with the coastal area of the capital. The police will implement a complete closure of access to Santa Cruz via the TF-4 entry motorway. This blockage will begin early at 03:00 hours, allowing only vehicles with explicit official authorisation to pass through this sector. The restrictions will be notably intensified from 09:00 hours, when the lane will be strictly reserved for escorted convoys.
To manage the massive influx of buses and collective vehicles arriving from other islands and localities in the province, the Civil Security area has reconfigured the city’s parking map. General parking spaces at the Maritime Park and Palmetum, as well as all of Víctor Zurita Soler Street, will be deactivated. These locations will be exclusively reserved for authorised discretionary transport fleets. Local authorities remind everyone that the entire operation will be under real-time continual evaluation, so the traffic cut-off scheme may experience sudden changes necessitated by the security requirements of the Supreme Pontiff.
