Throughout the summer weekends, from Friday to Sunday, the bus lane to Las Teresitas beach will continue to undergo pilot tests, as announced by the Councillors for Mobility and the Anaga district, Evelyn Alonso and Gladis de León. The tests will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with the exception of the last weekend of this month due to the Carmen festivities in the fishing village. The pilot tests are set to commence this Friday, July 12.
At a meeting held yesterday with residents of San Andrés, data from the initial weekend of operation of the bus lane to Las Teresitas beach was presented. The Councillor for Mobility mentioned that after the initial test, feedback was shared among the authorities involved, concluding that the test was successful. However, further testing is required to gather more data, especially during peak times when the weather is favourable for beach visits.
Gladis de León emphasised that the purpose of the test is to enhance mobility and accessibility for residents of San Andrés and the neighbouring areas of Anaga. The aim is to reduce traffic chaos caused by private vehicles heading to the beach, many of which carry only one or two occupants, thus promoting the use of public transport.
Residents proposed various solutions during the meeting to alleviate traffic congestion on weekends with good weather, such as implementing reversible lanes. These proposals will be evaluated by the Mobility and Security department of the City Council for technical feasibility. Additionally, a parking study commissioned for the municipality will soon be available to develop parking solutions for Santa Cruz.
The Titsa representative reported that during the test weekend, there was a significant increase in the number of passengers transported, particularly over the weekend. Line 910 saw an increase from the usual 4,900 passengers to 5,500 on Saturday and 9,900 on Sunday. The journey time from the Interchange to Las Teresitas did not exceed 30 minutes during the test period, improving the comfort for public transport users.
The reserved bus lane, designated for buses, taxis and motorcycles, spans from the exit of the TF-11 road to the El Castillo de San Andrés roundabout. This lane selection was made based on road safety considerations, including the exits from Dársena and stops along Avenida de San Andrés and the coloured walkway of San Andrés.
Furthermore, plans are in place to prevent bus lane changes at the TF-11 roundabout, ensuring that lines 946 (Interchange-Almáciga) and 947 (Interchange-Chamorga) continue to the Las Flores roundabout. This will enable them to turn back via Avenida Marítima and merge with TF-12 (Taganana road).
