A total of 106 trees, belonging to various species, have been removed in Santa Cruz over the past three months, specifically from September to the end of November 2024, due to the risk of fractures caused by fungal infections, poor vitality in their structure, vandalism, or damage inflicted by vehicles, as stated yesterday by the Councillor for Public Services, Carlos Tarife, during a municipal control commission following a request by the PSOE.
According to technical assessments, originating from the examination of 50,000 trees in the city conducted by a national external company, 19 trees were felled in September, 48 in October, and 21 in November, with an additional 16 previously removed. The most affected species include palm trees (phoenix canariensis), flamboyant trees (delonix regia), jacarandas (jacaranda mimosifolia), pepper trees (schinus molle), tulip trees (spathodea), brachichiton (acerifolius), and ficus. These species were located in areas such as García Sanabria, La Granja, and Viera y Clavijo parks, as well as on José Manuel Guimerá, Núñez de la Peña, or Ramón y Cajal streets, and Tres de Mayo, Belgium, San Sebastián, or Veinticinco de Julio avenues, among other sites.
The socialist spokesperson, Patricia Hernández, emphasised that there is “great concern” among residents regarding the removal of large trees occurring within the city and questioned “if there are no alternative treatments before resorting to felling.” In response, Carlos Tarife (PP) asserted that “the city council aims for zero risk, and if the technical reports dictate so, then logging will proceed to prevent accidents.” However, he reiterated that “for every tree that is removed, new specimens are planted, as has been done in La Rambla de Las Tinajas and Marina command.”
Additionally, Tarife announced that by the second quarter of this year, “the new Parks and Gardens contract will be approved, which will include an arborist and new tools, which we currently lack, to inspect the interior of trees. Moreover, by the end of this month, the Green Infrastructure Plan will be unveiled, aiming to increase the tree population and create climate shelters in the city to protect residents from heat.”
On another note, the commission discussed the progress of the new General Planning Plan (PGO) for Santa Cruz, expected to receive approval in 2029, as reported by Councillor for Urban Planning, Zaida González (PP), during a session requested by the PSOE. The councillor indicated that “the drafting task has just been awarded to the entity Coderch, Urbanism, and Architecture, which will be responsible for completing the preparation of the text that will establish the foundations for the city’s future.”
PSOE councillor Matilde Zambudio condemned that “Santa Cruz has been without this document for 30 years and still operates under the 1992 plan as they are incapable of implementing a new organisation. What they have done amounts to a restart that fails to resolve the issues because they lack a clear model for the city,” he contended.
The fence
Another matter addressed by the commission concerned the channeling works of the El Cercado ravine in San Andrés, which are anticipated to eliminate the risk of flooding or overflowing during rainfall in the El Regente area. These works are scheduled to commence in February, following the award of the project to a consortium for 1.3 million euros, as confirmed by councillor Carlos Tarife to the socialist group.
“Even though the report was conducted in 2021 and in 2023, emergency work was declared, the occupation of certain plots has delayed the commencement of the works, as the Insular Water Council is working to resolve the plot issues,” he clarified.
Socialist councillor Florentino Guzmán questioned the “administrative silence” surrounding the works and urged the city council to inform the residents. Tarife responded that this would be done shortly and added, “what we will not continue to do is assume responsibilities—be it bidding, execution, or financing—that do not belong to us. For that reason, the Insular Water Council has been asked to engage in areas within its competency, as it is the entity that should have carried out the work completely.”
The cost of the works on the Recova Vieja soars
The rehabilitation works on the Recova Vieja are expected to conclude next June, thus reopening the property after the summer for cultural purposes. The Councillor for Infrastructure, Javier Rivero, explained yesterday during the control commission he attended at the request of Vox, that “the work has faced delays due to issues found with the roof during execution, resulting in an additional cost of 2.6 million for a project that was budgeted at nearly 700,000 euros and now totals 3.3 million.”
The mayor noted that “the work has concentrated on repairing roof leaks, but it was uncovered that the beams were rotten inside, in addition to other significant issues with the concrete work. Hence, emergency work was approved to replace the 1,400 wooden beams, further escalating the initial cost.”
“The traffic congestion at Christmas was due to the vibrancy of the city”
The Councillor for Security, Gladis de León, stated yesterday that the security and mobility plan implemented in the capital during the previous Christmas was “successful,” despite the occurrence of specific traffic congestion that “demonstrates Santa Cruz is thriving and that effective efforts are being made, which draw more visitors,” he remarked. These statements were also supported by Mobility Mayor Evelyn Alonso (CC).
Both responded to socialist Florentino Guzmán, highlighting that “on December 30, record numbers of vehicles entered the capital, 123,000 compared to 106,000 in 2023, leading to specific bottlenecks that were managed thanks to the exceptional work of the Local Police.”
Guzmán described the coordination of the plan as “alarming” and called for an audit to “prevent the identified shortcomings from occurring again, in addition to providing resources to the officers, such as radio equipment or training exercises.”
