The City Council presided over by Óscar Noda has launched a new message of awareness and sensitization, reminding citizens of "the obligation to make good use of public space, not only out of simple respect for the municipal ordinance, but also to offer a much more friendly image of a quality tourist destination that is a reference in the Canary Islands and also to promote coexistence between businesses, customers and pedestrians, at a key moment in which we must maintain the sum of efforts to continue taking steps forward in economic recovery."
The mayor of Yaiza asks for "all the collaboration" of terraces and businesses in complying with the municipal ordinance on the occupation of public spaces that allows them to extend their economic activity on public and private land, especially on pedestrian streets as sensitive as Limones Street and the Avenida Marítima in Playa Blanca.
Yaiza, aware of the drop in turnover due to the collapse of tourist visits since the declaration of the pandemic, emphasizes that it was one of the first municipalities in the Canary Islands not only to suspend the collection of the fee for the occupation of terraces for the years 2020 and 2021, but also to make the occupation of public roads more flexible, yes, always respecting the current ordinance of application.
"The pedestrian routes marked on the pavement with discontinuous lines and pictograms and the ordering of terraces benefit the image of Playa Blanca as a quality tourist destination, the preservation of public health and the promotion of the local economy," declares the mayor.
In fact, the City Council affirms that, before any sanction, it first warned, published and distributed last year a municipal notice and an informative and didactic guide of good practices for the use of public space by terraces and other businesses accompanied by texts, plans and drawings that facilitate the understanding of its content. In addition, the administration points out that from the first moment it made its Technical Office available to clarify any business concerns.
"The objective since then has been to offer the possibility of safely expanding the terrace areas without this implying a breach of the regulations or hindering pedestrian mobility," the Council points out.
After the publication of this guide, also available on the cover of www.yaiza.es, the institution recalls that it proceeded to the definition and signage of the pedestrian routes in the central area of the town of Playa Blanca, Calle Limones and Avenida Marítima, maintaining the initial objective and taking care of the social distancing ordered by the health authorities. “It is not good for businesses, nor for customers, nor for the pedestrians themselves to have fortuitous stumbles when food is being consumed, and even less so in a pandemic situation,” concludes the mayor.
