The Guamasa Neighborhood Association has gathered almost 900 signatures of support against the closure of access to the TF-5 highway that was put into practice, as a test, for 15 days by the Island Council, which stated this Wednesday that the balance had been “positive”. The neighbors, contrary to this opinion, plan to demonstrate in front of the doors of the Insular Palace on November 16.
This is what the secretary of the neighborhood association, Alejandro Arrate, has told Europa Press, who has indicated that they are waiting for permission from the Government Delegation and that that same day they will also meet with the Common Deputy, Rafael Yanes, to present the signatures.
He pointed out that this Thursday, when the closure has no longer been applied, the traffic situation in the area “improves again” to the point that his usual journey to La Laguna took 30 minutes compared to an hour and 15 minutes. the last few days, without traffic jams on the TF-5, although there was heavy traffic.
Arrate suspects that although the Cabildo has given itself a period of between two and three weeks to decide, “the decision has been made” while waiting to determine what actions can be carried out on the two roads parallel to the TF-5, the TF- 235 and TF-152, which are those through which traffic has been diverted during the closure of access to the highway and which have presented large traffic jams during the days of the test.
He has insisted that the neighbors do not want the closure “under any circumstances”, to the point that the director of the CEIP Santa Rosa de Lima has sent them a letter in which he points out that 40% of the students, who take the bus to center, has arrived late while the pilot test lasted.
In the event that the closure is definitive, he predicted that it will be “chaos” while wondering if the Civil Guard will spend two years monitoring a give way in Guamasa between 06:30 and 09:00. “We are going to be serious,” she pointed out.
Arrate has acknowledged that the TF-5 was eased during the pilot test but has pointed out that the queues remained from La Matanza, although traffic did improve as it passed through Guamasa, and that other points such as Los Rodeos, La Esperanza or Las Canteras. “Everyone is looking for their place,” he added.
The Cabildo’s test consisted of not letting the residents of Guamasa, El Ortigal, Los Naranjeros, Valle Guerra, Tejina or Garimba, among other towns, join the highway, so they had to join that road at other points, which collapsed the parallel roads, with only one lane in each direction and with roundabouts and other signs that prevented fluid traffic.
The Cabildo already announced that, if the test was positive (as it has assessed), it would adopt measures on secondary roads to adapt them to the new traffic. One of them, TF-235 (the so-called Golf Course road), has numerous homes on both sides, little shoulder and abundant vegetation, such as large trees and palm trees, on both sides.
