The Cabildo presented this Thursday the design of what it intends to be the new taxi ranks throughout the island to "homogenize" their image. The drafting of the project was awarded for 14,900 euros to the company Laboratorio de Planeamiento y Arquitectura, S.L.P, of the urban planner architect Juan Palop-Casado, who attended the presentation together with the president, Pedro San Ginés, and the Minister of Transport, Patricia Pérez.
"It is not as such an infrastructure or urban furniture. It is an architectural infrastructure converted into a garden that builds landscape and integrates into it, also converting the taxi rank space into a public space," said Palop. In addition, he has defended that it aims to be "an element with identity and integrated into the landscape", so that "with minimal modifications of the designed prototype", it adapts to the environment in which it is located.
"This is a proposal for a friendly and sustainable infrastructure that will also allow users to use it as a meeting point and recreation area in urban centers and points where the stops are currently located," say from the Cabildo, which points out that the stops will incorporate a shaded area, benches, Wi-Fi and charging points for mobiles, electric scooters and bicycles, as well as urban furniture adapted to current accessibility regulations. As an example, Palop pointed out that it will have special benches so that an elderly person can sit down and get up comfortably.
It is contemplated to intervene in 54 stops
The total execution cost, including the stop, furniture, special infrastructures and urbanization, will be around 35,790 euros in the case of the standard prototype, and a total of 54 taxi ranks are contemplated in Lanzarote. Regarding financing, San Ginés stated that the Cabildo "could take charge of the construction and financing of these stops in the municipalities", although he added that "the management and the best solution for the maintenance of this new infrastructure should be studied and agreed upon with the town councils, once the project is delivered, given the municipal nature of the same".
Regarding the characteristics of the stop, the existence of a "xerophilous garden" on the upper part and roof of the structure stands out, which they intend to be "as self-sufficient as possible and demand minimal maintenance, composed of some native or endemic species of Lanzarote". In this regard, they have explained that the planter includes water reserves, photovoltaic panels and lighting.
Regarding the part of the supports, they intend to be manufactured in laminated wood and through them all the rainwater and electrical installations will be channeled, since a photovoltaic system will be used to produce electrical energy. According to Palop, it has been calculated that the energy demand is less than the energy generated by the solar panels of the proposal, so "the surplus can be used in complementary mobility systems, such as electric scooters, bicycles or mobiles". The solar energy generated and subsequently stored in the batteries of the planter would power the rest of the elements through the connections that are made through the vertical uprights of the stop.