REGIONAL GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS MULTI-STORY PARKING IN THE PORT

Vicente Martínez Mus, the director-general of Costas, Puertos y Aeropuertos, part of the Generalitat Valenciana’s Ministry of Environment, Water, Infrastructure and Territory, visited the port area of Xàbia with mayoress Rosa Cardona this week to look at the future project to build a multi-story car-park on regional government land.

The plot on which it is proposed to build this much-needed infrastructure lays within the fishing and sports port which is managed by the Generalitat Valenciana and consequently the project needs the support and permission of the regional government to become a reality.

Both the director-general and the mayoress agreed that a new multi-level parking zone would alleviate problems during the summer months when the population of Xàbia quadruples and consequently so does the number of vehicles. Increased parking potential has long been demanded by both residents and visitors and the new infrastructure will be designed to offer the best possible service.

In addition, the director-general assured that the project will be fully integrated into the urban and landscape fabric of both the town and the port.

“A disastrous project”

However, not everyone is enthusiastic about the idea of a new multi-story car-park in the port and the left-wing populist party Podem Xàbia, which doesn’t have a representative of the local council, issued an open letter calling the proposal “a disastrous project” for the port, adding that its location in a cul-de-sac would mean that traffic would have pass through the streets of the port twice, when entering and leaving, whilst it would go against the new municipal bylaw on noise pollution in the town.

The letter considers that two existing parking zones – Avenida del Puerto and Calle Verona (Camp d’Esports Mezquides) – are within walking distance of the port zone and that more parking could be created in these locations. For example, it said, the latter road could be expanded by moving the existing bike lane closer to the river and placing more parking bays in its place. It adds that if a multi-story car-park has to be built, it should be located outside of the port zone, such as on the existing parking area in Avenida del Puerto.

The open letter concluded by asking that the mayoress to revoke the decision to build a multi-story car-park in front of the fish market whilst also working on improving public transport in Xàbia “which has to be a solution to the traffic problems”.