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PHOTOS: Sergio Betancort
The Preferential Stop Rambla Islas Canarias, in Puerto del Carmen, was officially inaugurated this Tuesday, in an event attended by numerous public officials, such as the vice president of the Cabildo and Minister of Transport, Joaquín Caraballo; the general director of Transport of the Government of the Canary Islands, Rosa Dávila; and the mayor of Tías, Francisco Herdández.
In his speech, Caraballo stressed that "this is a necessary and complementary infrastructure with others that are already in use, to improve the connectivity and mobility of citizens and tourists both in the municipality of Tías and in the rest of the island." The vice president also pointed out that "although I am the one who has completed this management and is inaugurating it, this Preferential Stop is the result of the work of several years, in which Ramón Bermúdez and Ángel Vázquez have also been Transport councilors", who were present at the event.
"It has been a work of continuity -he added- in which the collaboration between the institutions has been very important, especially with the General Directorate of Transport, especially in the channeling of resources from the European Union; and with the Tías City Council, which has ceded the land", he highlighted.
"It will be used more gradually"
Caraballo also commented that "gradually this space will be given more utility", which initially will host lines 34, internal to Puerto del Carmen, and 61, which runs between Arrecife and Playa Blanca. "When we have approved the Island Plan for Sustainable Mobility, there will be a reorganization of collective public transport and this will allow more lines to include this preferential stop in their itinerary", Caraballo advanced. "We will contribute to promoting the use of public transport to the detriment of private transport", concluded the vice president.
For her part, the general director of Transport of the Autonomous Executive, Rosa Dávila, stressed in her speech "the many years that we have been working on this project, which thanks to the trust they have placed in me, I have been able to experience from its planning to its inauguration today". "A project -she continued- that is very important for the connectivity of the Canary Islands through public transport, which has been a priority objective for the Government of the Canary Islands and a firm commitment".
Dávila also stated that "this Preferential Stop, which has involved an investment of 500,000 euros, is added to the Trans-Island Transport Infrastructure Axis, together with the more than four million euros that have been invested in this area in Lanzarote in recent years, and which will surely not be the last because we will continue to collaborate".
The mayor of Tías, the host municipality, thanked "both the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands for the provision of this infrastructure, which will improve the service provided to the citizens of Puerto del Carmen and the tourists who visit us, something of vital importance for a tourist town such as Puerto del Carmen, in a phase of renovation".
Hernández added that Tías receives this "contribution to the municipality with full satisfaction", and also had words of "gratitude" towards the former councilors Ramón Bermudez and Ángel Vázquez, as well as to all those who have participated in its materialization".