Eduardo Sobreviela |
Madrid (EFE).- Mobility, especially in large cities, continues to be one of the main problems for citizens and one of the great challenges for city councils and their politicians, who in these weeks, as always when there are elections, they promise better public transport, more bike lanes or friendlier urban models.
Facing the municipal elections of 28M, both the parties and the candidates have been disclosing programs and making promises without much news regarding the measures already in place, which have sometimes generated a broad political debate, as has happened in the capital of Spain. with Madrid Central and the extension of Bicimad or in Barcelona with its “superblock” or “superilla” model and the expansion of the tramway.
A prominent section in the electoral programs
The PSOE framework program includes a section called “A new way of moving around the city” that proposes aid for transport vouchers and the promotion of shared vehicles, the design of “safe and continuous” bicycle networks and “healthy” transport and “sustainable”.
The one from the PP declares himself in favor of electric mobility, hydrogen and non-polluting fuels and is committed to lanes for high-occupancy vehicles (two or more passengers and motorcycles), incentives and bonuses for different groups of users and the promotion of public transport interurban, “promoting the implementation of a concession map”.
Unidas Podemos wants to support electric cars or those with alternative technologies, meet the demand for trains in all municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants by 2030, improve the frequency and routes of the bus, tram or metro and create a single transport card , “free for people under 26 years of age”.
In Madrid the king is the bus
In Madrid, the PP candidate for re-election, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has promised that the night buses -the “owls”- will pass every 15 minutes at most, while the Bicimad electric bicycle rental system is followed ” stabilizing little by little” after the problems generated by its extension and a new model of electric scooters has just been released.
The socialist candidate, former minister Reyes Maroto, has announced a young bus card to travel for free until the end of the year, also with Bicimad included, and that she will rearrange the Atocha-Cibeles axis so that it is a “space for people and not for cars”.
Rita Maestre, the candidate for Más Madrid, has proposed a network of 11 high-speed bus lines with their own lanes, like “modern trams” capable of carrying up to 500,000 daily passengers, as a way for no one to take more than 30 minutes in to get to the center or more than 45 to go “from one end of the city to the other”.
In turn, the Vox candidate, Javier Ortega Smith, has warned that one of his “demands” will be that “all cars”, have the environmental label they have, can circulate “freely” through the city except on days and points with greater contamination.
In Barcelona, around with the “superilla” and the tram
Ada Colau, mayor and candidate for re-election, defends that her “superblock” or “superilla” model advances towards a “more livable” city, gains “green and pedestrian” space, reduces pollution and private vehicles and promotes the proximity economy .
The mayor of ERC, Ernest Maragall, will promote a traffic reduction plan throughout the city and an “equitable, distributed, agreed upon and shared with the citizenry” alternative to the ‘superilles’ proposal.
The JxCat candidate and former mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, champions the opposition to the tram works on the Diagonal in progress and is open to raising a consultation – “if they put a lot of pressure on me,” he says – to decide on the continuity of the work .
They are also opposed by the PP candidates, Daniel Sirera -who on the other hand has promised that motorcycles registered before 2003 will be able to circulate “24 hours a day”-; Valents, Eva Parera; and Cs, Anna Grau, historically against the tram although now she supports ending the connection despite not considering it a priority.
ERC is in favor of the tram connection -a work that has the approval of the Generalitat-, and the two municipal government partners -BComú and PSC- have positioned themselves in favor of ending the connection, although there have recently been crosses of accusations on this issue.
Throughout Spain the candidates propose…
In Zaragoza, the socialist candidate, Lola Ranera – who is facing precisely the up to now person in charge of Mobility of the Aragonese capital, Natalia Chueca (PP) – has promised, among other issues, to carry out a study to expand line 1 of the tram to the entrance of the Royo Villanova Hospital.
In Bilbao, the PNV candidate for re-election, Juan Mari Aburto, includes among his 10 “commitments” with the Biscayan capital “an accessible city model and sustainable mobility”
In Valladolid, the main candidates, among them the current mayor, the socialist Óscar Puente (PSOE), and the popular Jesús Julio Carnero, differ between burying or not the train tracks and establishing a more or less large Low Emission Zone.
In Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands Coalition candidate for president of the Cabildo, María Fernández, has opted for free buses and the PP candidate for Mayor of Las Palmas, Jimena Delgado, has criticized the implementation of the low emission zone .
In Vitoria, EH Bildu will seek to calm traffic through the declaration of the Álava capital as “City 30”, in reference to the limit of 30 kilometers per hour for traffic that Bilbao adopted in 2020.
In Santander, IU-Podemos considers that the current mobility model is no longer viable and its head of the list, Keruin Martínez, has advocated for another that prioritizes pedestrians and offers room for all types of vehicles.