Residents Criticize Failure of New Traffic Restrictions in Anaga Rural Park
Residents of Tenerife’s Anaga Rural Park are calling for stricter enforcement of new traffic regulations after reports emerged that large tourist coaches are ignoring mandatory one-way routes.
Management of Anaga Rural Park is facing fresh criticism as local residents raise concerns over the effectiveness of new traffic restrictions. People living in the area’s hamlets say that tourist transport regulations are being ignored, leading to chaotic conditions in the protected park.
The controversy involves an agreement between the Tenerife Island Council (Cabildo) and the Canary Islands Transport Employers' Federation, which took effect on May 15, 2025. The rules established a one-way system for large tourist coaches over 12.2 meters long. Under this plan, buses entering via the TF-12 road from San Andrés toward Taganana must exit toward La Laguna, while those starting from the opposite direction must leave through the Santa Cruz area.
While there are exceptions for public transport (Titsa), school buses, and authorized minibuses, residents claim that large coaches are still traveling in both directions. Photographic evidence appears to support these claims, showing that heavy vehicles are disregarding the rules meant to ease congestion on the park’s narrow roads.
This situation highlights a wider debate about how to manage tourism in the Canary Islands’ protected spaces. There is ongoing tension between supporting the local economy and protecting the environment and the quality of life for those who live there. The fact that these rules are being ignored just months after they were introduced has led to calls for the Cabildo to improve oversight and enforce penalties to ensure the system actually works.