Candelaria has been distinguishing itself for years in unique initiatives that have crossed municipal borders and have been copied by other municipalities, highlighting the shared taxi (now transport on demand), which links the neighborhoods of the midlands and Playa de la Viuda, with the town center of Villa Mariana, but above all it also highlights the creation of Community Tables, the seed of participatory budgets, where the residents of Araya, Las Cuevecitas, Malpaís, Igueste, Barranco Hondo, Playa La Viuda, Punta Larga, Las Caletillas and Candelaria helmet they decide where to invest a certain amount – two years ago it was half a million euros – for the closest works, those that are outside the general budget.
Although this year’s Budget does not include that half a million euros, the Councilor for the Treasury, Airam Pérez Chinea, announced that once the Community Tables are launched, an amount of the Remaining Treasury will be allocated to the so-called participatory budgets, through a credit modification.
The meetings of the Community Tables, after two years without being held due to the sanitary restrictions imposed by COVID-19, began last month and in some cases there have even been double calls, as happened with the Punta Larga-Las Caletillas table, the most populated area of Candelaria, after the request of the neighbors, as there are pending issues. Thus, last week, those attending the meeting asked the mayor, Mari Brito, and the councilors of the Government group about the works that are currently being carried out, such as the conditioning of the Las Caletillas beach seafront and the Paseo Graciliano Ruiz Rodríguez or the reform of the Plaza de Las Caletillas, a work that has suffered a serious delay. In addition, the neighbors present expressed their concern about the lack of public awareness when it comes to leaving belongings on public roads or the need for rat extermination campaigns in some spaces.
The following meetings of the Community Tables will be to address the Local Action Plan of the Local Urban Agenda that the City Council of Candelaria is in the process of elaborating and in which the challenges and challenges that the municipality faces, related, among other aspects, with the planning of the territory, universal accessibility, sustainable management of resources, the circular economy or proximity and sustainable mobility.
The meetings will begin on April 25 and end on May 9, all at 6:00 p.m. This is the calendar for zones: April 15, informative workshop of Araya, Las Cuevecitas and Malpaís, in the premises under the Plaza de Araya. Thursday, April 28, in Igueste, at the Porfirio Torres Cruz cultural space. Monday, May 2: Workshop in Barranco Hondo, in the Cho Morrocoyo cultural space. Thursday, May 5: Candelaria Casco-Playa La Viuda, in the Plenary Hall of the Town Hall and on Monday, May 9, Punta Larga and Las Caletillas, in the assembly hall of the Punta Larga Youth Zone.
