The Local Committee of Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista (NC-BC) in Arrecife proposes to recover the green lung of Maneje through a comprehensive transformation of the so-called "Biosaludable" Park, turning it into a large green space, accessible, shaded, and equipped, prepared to respond to the needs of the current population and, especially, to the growth that this area of the capital will experience in the coming years.
The park, inaugurated on November 22, 2012, has a surface area of 47,666 square meters and was built with funding from the State Fund for Local Investment, known as Plan E. The investment exceeded one million euros.
For the spokesperson of NC-BC in Arrecife, Sheila Guillén, it is especially significant that this project was born with the vocation of becoming a "great green lung" for the city. Fourteen years later, Guillén considers it necessary to recover that conception and undertake a transformation that allows the park to fully fulfill that function again.
“Maneje is going to grow and needs public services”
The Canaristas recall that the planned construction of 400 public housing units in Maneje will mean the arrival of around 1,000 new residents to this area of Arrecife, with the future projection of more housing and residents.
“The City Council cannot limit itself to building housing and then wait for the population's needs to appear. It has the obligation to plan the urban environment, public services, facilities, and green spaces that these families will need from now on,” points out Guillén, who imagines this park as the "Central Park" of Arrecife, a space to walk, play, play sports, rest, protect oneself from the heat, and meet others.
Less asphalt and more nature
NC-BC proposes a comprehensive renaturalization of the park, reducing the current prominence of hard surfaces and considerably increasing the presence of vegetation and trees.
The proposal includes eliminating the interior asphalt paths, replacing them with permeable pavements and pedestrian routes integrated into the landscape. Additionally, they propose incorporating shade structures in areas where there is insufficient tree cover; installing a roof over the esplanade and the stands, allowing for year-round sports, cultural, neighborhood, and leisure activities; improving and renaturalizing the facade and the park's perimeter; incorporating fountains and public drinking water points; ensuring universal accessibility on all routes and facilities; renovating the children's and sports areas and creating new spaces for different age groups; introducing solutions for heat and turning the park into a climate refuge for the population, and enhancing coexistence spaces, with benches, rest areas, and areas for community activities.
Recovering Arrecife's memory
Finally, NC-BC proposes that, once its transformation is completed, the park be renamed "Alcalde Cándido Reguera" Park, in recognition of who was the mayor of Arrecife and a figure linked to the city's recent history.
"We want to recover a park that was born to be a green lung, adapt it to the city that Arrecife will be in the coming years, and also give it a name that is part of our collective memory. Maneje deserves that great park and Arrecife needs that great green lung," concludes Sheila Guillén.
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