The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council’s plenary session yesterday saw discussions related to the Carnival, with two motions presented by PSOE and Vox. These motions addressed the increase in capacity for contests and galas for the upcoming year, as well as the creation of pedestrian walkways during parades to improve crowd mobility. The session achieved unanimity among the parties, with Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez intervening to seek a consensus for the carnival.
The socialist spokesperson, Patricia Hernández, defended a motion urging the Autonomous Organization of Festivals, led by Javier Caraballero, to revert to pre-COVID entrance, capacity, and scenario distribution formats. The aim is to ensure the restoration of the Carnival’s previous status and to accommodate more people at galas and competitions in future editions. Hernández emphasized the need to prevent the recent occurrences where ticket sales quickly sold out due to a reduction of 2,500 spectator seats at the Fairgrounds, leaving many participating group families and the general public without tickets.
Hernández called for a change in the stage and stands distribution to accommodate more people in the contests, particularly in the Murgas Adultas final. She highlighted the decrease in capacity, with standing room having reduced from 2,000 to 1,000, and only 2,697 tickets being distributed to the families of the groups in 2024 as compared to 5,500 people seated in 2020. However, Festival Councilor, Javier Caraballero, emphasized the gain in scenic quality and safety despite the reduced capacity. He announced a forthcoming study to find a solution that would allow for more viewers without compromising quality.
Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez recalled the relocation of the Murgas final to the stadium in 2012 due to capacity concerns, only for the groups to request a return to the Fairgrounds the following year. He proposed a study to reorganize the Carnival contests and galas and requested the socialists to withdraw their motion, a request that was accepted.
Vox presented a motion for the establishment of pedestrian walkways at various points along the Carnival parade route to enhance the mobility of people, especially those with disabilities. They also called for citizens to be informed about the location of these pedestrian crossings.
Mayor of Fiestas valued the proposal, as he acknowledged the difficulties in crossing the streets during the lengthy parades, and assured the designation of walkways while considering their regulation and security measures.
Fireworks
At the request of Vox, the plenary session addressed the issue of controlling the unregulated sale and usage of fireworks, firecrackers, and flyers in the capital, which causes distress for autistic individuals and pets sensitive to noise.
The Councilor for Public Services and Environmental Sustainability, Carlos Tarife, announced the city council’s preparation of a noise map for the capital. Subsequently, limitations will be enforced on the uncontrolled use of such pyrotechnic materials through the modification of the Environmental Ordinance, ensuring their regulated usage on the streets.
Vox proposed the possibility of using silent fireworks for the city’s organized events to mitigate the adverse impact of noise on citizens’ quality of life. The mayor of Fiestas, Javier Caraballero, highlighted the elimination of final fireworks in all events to reduce noise impact and the restriction of fireworks usage to five specific events.
Electric Scooters
The plenary session unanimously approved the urging of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) to mandate training for the use of electric scooters, particularly for individuals under 18 years old. This decision arose due to the current regulation allowing individuals from 15 years old to use electric scooters without any monitoring. Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez emphasized the necessity to address this safety concern and stated the efforts made by the city councils to educate the population and disseminate the regulations.
