“The Portugal Road lane goes to be got rid of (…) in order that the road as soon as once more has the good judgment of circulate.” In July 2023, the deputy mayor of Logroño (PP), Celia Sanz, thus introduced an instance of the movements of a number of right-wing councils, which debuted that yr via getting rid of motorbike and bus lanes to offer extra space to the auto. A month later, the infrastructure—installed position simplest part a yr previous—was once destroyed. Now, the Ministry of Shipping has despatched a answer to the Logroño Town Council – to which EL PAÍS has had get entry to – to reject those adjustments and warn it that if it does no longer construct the deliberate lanes it’s going to have to go back the Ecu subsidy of 6.5 million gained. upfront for movements in desire of sustainable mobility. Óscar Puente’s division is investigating 14 different towns for those causes. “The non-compliant municipalities must go back the cash and may additionally face a penalty of as much as 3 times the volume of the subsidy,” the Secretary Normal of Sustainable Mobility, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, explains to EL PAÍS.
The Spanish Govt mobilized 1,500 million euros of the Ecu Subsequent Era budget in two calls (2022 and 2023) to advertise the improvement of sustainable city mobility with motorbike lanes, pedestrianization, low-emission zones or bus lanes. Any amendment of those initiatives calls for prior approval from the Ministry of Shippingone thing that, in lots of instances, has no longer took place.
Actually, Logroño eradicated the infrastructure of Portugal Road in August, constructed with tactical urbanismand which he supposed to consolidate with Ecu budget. Later, in numerous petitions – from September 2023 to February 2024 – he asked to switch the East-West Cycle Axis. In spite of no longer receiving a reaction from the ministry, the Town Council destroyed the safe motorbike lane to make extra space for automobiles and changed it with a shared area between automobiles and bicycles. As well as, he has requested to not construct the extension of the A-13 bridge to deal with a biking and pedestrian reference to the excuse that the Executive of Los angeles Rioja is development some other biking bridge about two kilometers away. As well as, it needs to prevent sporting out the only platform motion – striking the street and sidewalk on the identical stage – on Sagasta Side road.
The ministry’s technicians remember the fact that Logroño is calling to make 3 very far-reaching adjustments, “which reply to no purpose technical standards, nor to surprising movements, however quite to a metamorphosis in municipal standards, which isn’t admissible.” For example, they spotlight the destruction of the central a part of the East-West Cycle Axis: “They communicate concerning the loading and unloading of a theater, which existed sooner than, and the set up of a few underground packing containers that the Town Council itself installed later. None of them are instances that rise up as soon as the challenge is authorized.”
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Julio Romero, spokesperson for Logroño en bici, considers that those movements are performed out of “political revenge” via the municipal group: “We had a technical style like that of Oslo or Copenhagen, made with little cash, and it’s being modified for some other that comes to 40 years of decline in biking mobility. Except for the movements paid for with Ecu budget, others also are being got rid of, such because the biking precedence within the Dutch roundabout (one of those infrastructure through which motorcycles have precedence). The result’s that many of us have stopped the usage of the motorbike, particularly children to visit college.”
Reactionary insurance policies towards sustainable mobility
David Lois, professor of Social Psychology and mobility skilled, says: “After the 2023 municipal elections, the time table of a few municipalities turns out to have a unmarried level: dismantling insurance policies aimed toward making energetic mobility, journeys via public shipping or the advance of city area. The movements are performed with none form of proof, past subjects akin to alleged mistreatment of drivers.” In his opinion, “they’re reactionary insurance policies that undermine enhancements in kids’s autonomy, within the walkability of the aged or within the advent of environments the place pedaling isn’t hectic.” On this sense, “Logroño has been one of the energetic towns in sporting out regressive measures.”
The Logroño Town Council now has 5 days to reply to the request with its allegations. When it does, Shipping will factor the general answer. If on the finish of the yr the movements that got Ecu budget aren’t finished as promised, the native executive will probably be ordered to go back the quantities gained.
It isn’t the one case. On the finish of April, Óscar Puente’s division despatched a an identical record to Murcia to call for that it perform the dedicated movements referring to pedestrianization and bicycle lanes; The Town Council indicated that a number of are underway, even if others stay unrealized. In the meantime, Shipping confirms that it’s investigating 14 extra towns for an identical movements that constitute regressions in sustainable mobility. Actually, Puente was once mayor of Valladolid within the earlier legislature, when he constructed a number of motorbike lanes that his successor, Jesús Julio Carnero, later eradicated.
“From the ministry we need to be vigilant in order that the goals of those budget, which intention to advertise sustainable mobility, aren’t distorted and that the municipalities perform the movements to which they dedicated. We will be versatile when there are surprising instances, however no longer when there are unjustified adjustments in political standards,” says Fernández Heredia, chargeable for Sustainable Mobility on the Ministry of Shipping. “When it’s discovered that they’ve no longer carried them out, they should go back the whole sponsored quantity. However as well as, they will face sanctions pondered within the legislation, which will entail two and as much as 3 times the volume to be reimbursed,” he provides.
For later, the evaluation of the help granted to construct low-emission zones (ZBE), which is drastically behind schedule in Spain in spite of already being obligatory, stays. “When the time involves justify this help, we will be able to be vigilant that those movements were used to determine an efficient ZBE. The beneficiary mayors signed a accountable declaration committing that on the finish of the duration (in lots of instances, the tip of 2024) they might be operational, and would perform for the next 5 years. If they don’t comply, they are going to have to go back the cash,” says Fernández Heredia. In the meantime, the Ombudsman, which introduced an ex officio motion because of the prolong within the implementation of low emission zonesconfirms that there’s nonetheless no information in his investigation.
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