Benidorm requests a subsidy from the Provincial Council to improve accessibility and road safety

Benidorm City Council is going to request a subsidy from Alicante Provincial Council to carry out numerous works in the city aimed at improving accessibility, road safety, and promoting sustainable mobility during the year 2024. The request for this aid economic is part of the call for the 'Plan Plan: Investment and Financing Plan in Infrastructure of the Province of Alicante (Provincial Plan for Cooperation in Works and Services of Municipal Competence 2024-2027)', as reported by the Councilor for Mobility and Works, Francis Muñoz, who signs the proposal for the request for this aid by the Local Government Board.

The councilor explained that the project presented by Benidorm City Council amounts to a total of 2,417,325.17 euros, of which 999,476 euros could be subsidized by the provincial institution, the maximum established by the bases for municipalities the size of Benidorm. Meanwhile, the remaining 1,417,849.17 euros would be covered with municipal funds, as stated in the project report.

Francis Muñoz has indicated that the actions planned to be carried out are divided into five groups of different technical solutions, which "together form part of an urban strategy for sustainable development, both from an urban planning and financial point of view.". These five lines of action are road safety, accessibility, school safety, technological control elements, and, finally, road paving.

In the first of them, related to road safety, the City Council proposes the construction of five new roundabouts to organize traffic, calm it, and eliminate dangerous left turns or traffic light crossings, also improving the safety of drivers and pedestrians. The first of these roundabouts will be located at the intersection of Vicente Pérez Devesa and Adolfo Suárez avenues, which will also “prevent journeys of up to 1 kilometer for vehicles that mainly access the IES Mediterrània, directly reducing the emissions of these vehicles.” maintains the councilor. In addition, new roundabouts would be built at the intersections of Murtal avenues with Marina Baixa, Juan Antonio Baldoví with Villajoyosa, Paraguay with Vía Parque, and Stockholm with Ametlla del Mar.

In terms of accessibility, a large number of pedestrian recesses and protection lugs have been planned in different parts of the city, which according to Francis Muñoz "will allow us to reduce the number of falls on public roads due to unevenness and thus comply with the regulations regarding universal accessibility”, in turn reducing the costs of property responsibilities in the coming years. Likewise, at this point, works have also been planned to improve accessibility in the City Hall's municipal parking lot, an action “highly demanded by citizens and that will improve the quality of life of people with reduced mobility, by making them more autonomous and independent. being able to access this parking lot without any type of restriction to carry out their procedures with the municipal Administration,” added the councilor.

Regarding the improvement of school security, the project seeks to carry out improvements in safe school routes at various points, as well as improve the accessibility and organization of spaces at the CEIP Mestre Gaspar López, improving the access ramp and the internal organization of the sports area through paving and rearrangement of the sports courts.

In the chapter on technological control elements, the project provides for the installation of radar boxes, pedagogical radars, and elements to improve the fiber optic network that manages the city's mobility network. Finally, regarding the paving of roads, the renewal of the pavement in heavily deteriorated areas stands out, such as some municipal roads such as the Palasiet, where a reorganization of the circulation spaces will also be carried out, implementing bike lanes to connect itineraries. cyclists and protecting pedestrians. In turn, the drainage of roads whose current condition can cause traffic accidents will be improved. This action will be completed with the execution of speed bumps that reduce the risk of accidents.

The person in charge of the Works and Mobility departments has stated that all the proposed actions "will greatly improve accessibility, road traffic and the safety of drivers and pedestrians in our city" and has trusted that the municipality "will obtain the maximum subsidy requested from the Provincial Council to be able to carry them out.”