Benidorm completes the roundabout at the junction of Venezuela and Ricardo Bayona streets, the main work of 2021 Participatory Budgets

Benidorm City Council has completed the construction of the roundabout located at the junction of Venezuela and Ricardo Bayona streets, the main work approved in the 2021 Participatory Budgets. A work that aims to improve accessibility and road traffic in areas.

The work has involved an investment of 593,419.57 euros and the work began at the end of last October. Once completed, the roundabout will not only improve traffic "but also pedestrian access in a very populated neighbourhood, with access to Foietes Specialities Health Center, Ausias March and Miguel Hernández schools" explained the mayor Toni Pérez, in the visit, made this morning together with the councillors of Citizen Participation and Public Space, Ana Pellicer and José Ramón González de Zárate, the vice-presidents of the Neighborhood Council Teresa Garrido and Manuel Sánchez Notario and residents of the neighbourhood within the campaign 'A pie de calle '. There, the first mayor has recalled that this point is a place "through which most of the vehicles that go from Poniente to the centre circulate".

The place where the new roundabout is located in an urban enclave "which until now generated a lot of tension at certain times of the day, especially when the entrances and exits of schools coincide", hence this neighbourhood proposal opted for " gain calm, security and improve the flow of traffic”.

The construction of the roundabout has also entailed some complementary works, such as the replacement of drinking water infrastructures at the junction with Ricardo Bayona. "It was a necessary intervention because the construction of the roundabout affected the channelling of drinking water and, therefore, it was necessary to relocate it" explained the mayor. The rainwater collection network has also been renewed to avoid problems when it rains.

In the construction of the roundabout, a new traffic light system has also been implemented, a pioneer in Spain, located on the sidewalk at ground level in which red or green icons indicate to the pedestrian when he can cross the road. Benidorm is the first Spanish city, along with Torrevieja, to have implemented this system, designed by a company from Alicante, which will be presented at the end of the month at the Amsterdam Mobility Fair.

Finally, Pérez has stressed the commitment of the local government to increase whenever possible the amount of 5% that is collected in the municipal budgets for the Participatory Budget.