The Mobility and Transportation Councilor of the Arrecife City Council, Mario González (Popular Party), has spoken on Radio Lanzarote - Onda Cero to talk about the construction, the lack of public parking, and the mobility problems affecting the island's capital. He has also announced that the capital will have rental bicycles.
The construction on one of the city's main arteries, Manolo Millares Street, has turned this space in Arrecife into a kind of labyrinth. Even the current Mobility and Transportation Councilor assures that it "has caused a bit of trouble", but asks the population for patience. There are different rehabilitation or improvement works in different parts of the city, "so it is normal for mobility problems to arise", he adds.
These works that are being carried out in different parts of the conejera capital are not under municipal authority. "We help as much as we can and make detours. Looking for the fastest labyrinth to get out", he says during his intervention in the morning show Buenos Días, Lanzarote.
To reduce these queues, "the construction on Manolo Millares Street is accelerating to decongest the exit towards Playa Honda". On the morning of this Thursday, the paving of this road was already underway.
This is how the remodeling of Manolo Millares Street will be
The need to decarbonize cities and apply sustainable mobility in these spaces leads to rethinking movement.
Likewise, the councilor emphasizes that the "Arrecife traffic that entered Manolo Millares was traveling through the interior of the city to reach the other side of the capital". For him, it is a practice that must end and points out that "the center is for people who are going to a main site and not a branch to cross the entire city".
The next destination for Avenida Fred Olsen also involves "a change in typology" over time.
"We have a wonderful city to walk or cycle in, and it is flat, with a beautiful seafront", says Mario González.
What are modal interchanges?
The spaces where a user can change from one type of transport to another are known as modal interchanges. For example, if a person driving a private car wants to take public transport halfway, there must be spaces that allow them to leave the car.
However, for this modal interchange, the current councilor indicates the value of having a General Planning Plan in Arrecife that defines "how to start moving".
"We need that base of the planning plan to be able to see how the territory is and decide which is the most suitable site for modal or dissuasive interchanges", he insists.
Rental bicycles will arrive in Arrecife
According to Mario González, the Arrecife City Council has requested aid to install a rental bicycle space in the city. For the moment, it remains to be determined which model they will choose to deploy throughout the city.
At the same time, he states that two new electric buses have already been awarded and that he is "drafting another specification for another three or four more buses". For the councilor, the main thing is to renovate that space, change that fleet, and even assess the implementation of a new line.
Until the bus fleet is renovated in the city, the Mobility Councilor does not plan to install shuttles. After this first step, he does consider that this type of transport can "boost the waterfront and even reach the Open Mall".
