Not all coastal cities have a port and a marina like Arrecife. This uniqueness, together with the island's landscapes and beaches, has meant that the number of cruises and cruise passengers has increased every year, to the point that Lanzarote has become one of the best-rated islands by tourists who arrive by sea.
For this, it was necessary to address a whole series of demands and for the Port Authority of Las Palmas to assume the need to improve both the berthing area and the breakwater for the cruise ship dock (the latter of which will become a reality next year).
But now there is the connection with Arrecife. We must ensure that those who visit us do not leave without entering the city, and for this we have to improve accessibility and services. There are numerous options, as our city holds a potential that we have not yet been able to exploit.
On the one hand, Arrecife has part of its coastline within the scope of Ports' actions, so it would be a matter of gradually gaining that space, a relatively easy task to the extent that it is not useful for the port authority. The proposal submitted in the last Council to build the headquarters of the Museum of the Sea in the old Frigorsa warehouses may be just the beginning.
An important action in the area where the Telamon still lies would be another option for the city to gain a new beach, where, in addition, a sculpture could well be erected or even a monument made with the pieces of this old ship about to be dismantled and which, at the time, would remind us of its presence on our coast.
At the same time, we should not forget that the bike lane that connects Costa Teguise with Arrecife remains to be completed in the same area.
Another necessary improvement would be the so-called Cruise Passenger Promenade, and the Playa del Castillo should also be equipped with some infrastructure so that it can be more accessible to both residents and tourists who walk down to the city.
An indispensable issue is to once again bet on commerce in Arrecife. A city with such an important port without an attractive commercial offer is not understood. It is urgent that the administrations once again believe in and support the commercial sector, as this is the only way to stop the bleeding caused by the continuous closure of so many premises.
Arrecife is a city that was born facing the sea; it was vital for its survival. We must give it back the importance it had and still has. We have a lot at stake.
By José Montelongo, Socialist Group for Lanzarote
