The four lanes of the coastline of La Explanada de Alicante, through which more than 20,000 vehicles circulate a day, will remain closed to traffic from next Monday, July 3, until next September, if the planned works take place as planned. .
The municipal decision to concentrate this impressive work in the months of July and August, high tourist season, and coinciding with the start this week of those carried out on the important axis that joins the Paseo de Canalejas -at one end of La Esplanade, with the steps of the Jorge Juan Institute, through the Doctor Gadea, Federico Soto and General Marvá promenades, has caused complaints from the hotel and commercial sectors, who fear seeing their businesses greatly affected.
In a statement issued this week, the hotel management APHA denounced that “a few days after the start of the redevelopment works on Alicante’s seafront, the situation is becoming chaotic for tourist accommodation.”
In the opinion of the sector, “cutting traffic in the main tourist artery of the city at the time of maximum influx is a total nonsense for a tourist destination like Alicante, which will mean a loss of comfort and a very negative deterioration of image” .
However, the Alicante City Council, which had already carried out the first phase of the works in La Explanada with partial traffic cuts, decided to postpone the start of the second phase and reduce the execution period to two months, July and August, considering that the affect on tourists was preferable to the problems on road traffic that residents could suffer once the school year started.
For this reason, a special traffic device has been designed whose effectiveness will be put to the test starting Monday. Since it will not be possible to circulate along the Canalejas-Marvá axis (until the end of the year in this case) or along the coastline parallel to the Explanada and the Canalejas park for two months, Movilidad Urbana recommends the use of public transport to access to the center and, for trips by private vehicle, use the A70, Vía Parque or Gran Vía.
According to the planning submitted, access to the Town Hall building, hotel establishments and services in the port area will be facilitated through the north entrance to Puerta del Mar; and to the bus station to drop off or pick up passengers, as well as Panoramis, car parks and port services from the south along Avenida de Elche.
The City Council reiterates that it closes the coastline to traffic “at the time of year when it has the least impact on traffic and movements of Alicante residents, such as the months of July and August, and only with the aim of being able to finish the works in the shortest time possible -two months- for the renovation of the Alicante coastline and six months -until the end of the year- on the Canalejas-Marvá axis to complete a joint investment that reaches 18 million euros co-financed with European funds” .
In the case of the coastal road, the amount of the action reaches 2,173,039 euros and its execution is carried out by the company Pavasal. With it, it is planned to narrow the roadway of the current road and incorporate a median of 1.50 meters along its entire length, with trees and shrubs, following the criteria of the action of the southern access.
Finally, the number of pedestrian crossings is not expanded as announced, which is limited to the three already existing. Although the City Council affirms that “they will be formed into a single, more permeable and accessible platform with the Esplanade and the renovated Paseo de los Mártires de la Libertad along the water line of the inner dock of the port”; we will have to wait until the end of the work to know what that means.
Given the foreseeable initial confusion of users, the municipal Traffic and Transportation Department will enable specific signage this week at the accesses to the city center due to the total cutoff to traffic on the coastline. When accessing from the south along Avenida de Elche, traffic to Gran Vía and Avenida Óscar Esplá will be prioritized, since traffic through Avenida de Loring will be restricted for access to the Bus Station.
Regarding the north access through Denia avenue, indicators will also be enabled to guide traffic through Vía Parque, Gran Vía, Boulevard del Pla and Padre Esplá, and Jaime II avenue, limiting the arrival of vehicles at Puerta del Mar , where the cut to traffic along the coastline will be established, and facilitating the access of public transport buses.
The City Council apologizes in advance to the residents and drivers for the inconvenience that these urban transformation works will cause, and promises “informative actions aimed at drivers, neighbors, merchants, and commercial and hotel establishments.
The works on the Canalejas-Marvá axis will continue until the end of the year, while those on the coastline on Paseo de los Mártires, in front of the Explanada, have an estimated completion date of September 4. In the case of the Plaza de Canalejas, it is planned to open to traffic provisionally, although pending some auctions, on August 16.
As for the access to the traditional center through Reyes Católicos street, it will be open this Monday, after a week of works, so that an entry circuit is provided through this road and exit through Maisonnave to the traditional center from Óscar Esplá avenue. In this way, from this Monday, July 3, the circulation of vehicles will be allowed again on the Reyes Católicos-Gadea-Calvo Sotelo axis. In the downtown area, Jaime II, Alfonso X el Sabio and La Estación avenues will also remain operational as normal through Los Luceros square.
The Rambla will also be operational, as well as San Fernando street and the rest of the streets of the traditional center. As for the works on the third section of the Esplanade, it is expected that they can be completed by the end of September, although this action does not have a special impact on traffic.
