The beginning of the works of remodeling of the Costa de Benalmádena, within the Edusi, have alerted different economic groups in the municipalities who fear that the consequences of starting before the summer season could spoil all the hopes of economic recovery placed in the high season . The mayor, Víctor Navas, indicates to Ole Benalmádena that respects the manifesto signed by these groups “since a work always causes inconvenience” and, although it emphasizes that alternatives have been devised to alleviate future inconveniences, it does not rule out a possible postponement of the first phase of the works “as long as it does not involve an extra cost for the residents of Benalmádena”.
The Association of Merchants and Entrepreneurs of Benalmádena (ACEB), the Association of Hotel Entrepreneurs of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos), the Costa del Sol Taxi Federation and Radio Taxi Benalmádena, as well as companies in the transport and coach sector, such as Grupo Bravo Autocares, Autocares Julià, Viajes Euroamérica and We4Trips, have called a press conference today to express their position against the imminent start, before the summer season, of the works on the remodeling project of Antonio Machado avenue and Alay avenue, in Benalmádena Costa.
In any case, these groups consider “a remodeling of both avenues necessary” and reiterate their “willingness to continue agreeing with the Benalmádena City Council that this change be carried out hand in hand with sustainable mobility, in accordance with a modern municipality that respects the environment, and above all with studied and successful forecasts and mobility solutions”.
Ole Benalmádena has asked the mayor, Víctor Navas, about this manifesto and he tells us that “it is understandable since some works always cause inconvenience and we are at the beginning of the season. Each one of them, as it should be, looks after the interests of the sector they represent”. Regarding a possible postponement of these works, the first mayor has stated that “if it does not imply any cost for the City Council, there would be no problem, but if it is not, I do not think it is acceptable that the neighbors have to pay an extra cost for some works that are already awarded”. In short, Navas does not refuse to study the possibility of a postponement, but “watching over the general interest of citizens”.
As for the works on Avenida Alay, which would be the most imminent, the mayor stated that, “as was explained to the groups, they will be carried out in two phases so that there are always lanes to enter and exit to the port”. He also stressed that “there will also be an alternative entrance and exit to the port through Avenida del Mar”, and that everything will be correctly signposted. “Obviously we cannot guarantee that the vehicles circulate as if there were no work being carried out because they always cause inconvenience,” Navas explains.
For her part, the president of the ACEB, Rosa María González Rubia; the vice president of ACEB, Jesús Fortes; the vice president in Benalmádena of Aehcos, Miguel Marcos; the member of Radio Taxi Benalmádena, Enrique del Cid, and the director of Viajes Euroamérica, Fabrice Rougemont, have qualified the reasons that have led all the signatory groups of the manifesto to maintain this position against the imminent start of the works.
The first of these reasons, according to the manifesto, is that the imminent start of the works “will seriously affect the summer tourist season and therefore lead to economic ruin for establishments throughout the area. Establishments and companies are already severely affected by the economic effects of the pandemic and the increase in the cost of energy and fuel, among others.”
The forecast and measures to alleviate “the problems of circulation and mobility in the entire core of Benalmádena Costa”, is another of the reasons why these groups are opposed to the imminent start of the works. They consider that “the measures proposed by the City Council are not enough to alleviate the impact on traffic and that a situation very similar to last year will occur, during the pilot test that was carried out in the area, with the consequent circulatory chaos that It was generated from the month of June 2021.”
