It doesn’t commence on the best note Santa Cruz de Tenerife bike lane. Publicised with considerable enthusiasm by the City Council, accompanied by pleas for patience from taxi drivers and the general public alike, one of the significant initiatives of Carlos Tarife, the Councilor for Public Services, has already met with its first protest, which is due to take place this month.
As previously reported by Diario de Avisos, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife bike lane, also known as the Personal Mobility Network, is set to decrease parking availability on vital thoroughfares in the capital, including Méndez Núñez Avenue (located near the town hall or García Sanabria Park) and El Pilar Street. These changes, among other factors, have prompted the organisation of a protest under the banner
The social media account Santa Cruz acts now, which is overseeing the protest, underscores the necessity of providing alternative parking options in the city centre: “Over the past three years, over 1,200 parking spaces have vanished from the heart of our city, and soon this number will exceed 5,000 due to the ongoing urban transformation projects.”
The group poses the question, “Where will residents, employees, and visitors park?” while asserting that they cannot “permit” the removal of parking spaces “without tangible alternatives, such as public parking, resident parking, or areas designated for loading and unloading.”
This network will span a distance of 18.77 kilometres (comprising 16.05 km of cycling streets and 2.17 km of cycle lanes) and has a projected budget of nearly 1.7 million euros, funded by Next Generation European resources.
It will incorporate new facilities for parking bicycles and scooters. U-shaped areas and structures capable of accommodating 10 and 20 personal mobility vehicles will be established, managed via a mobile application, which will also provide charging facilities alongside storage for helmets.
The protest against the Santa Cruz bike lane is planned for next Saturday, December 14, commencing at 11:00 a.m. from Plaza Weyler.
