Santa Cruz Dismantles Unused €1.7M Bike Lane for Parking

Work began last night to dismantle the bike lane running along El Pilar, Méndez Núñez, and Villalba Hervás streets in central Santa Cruz, Tenerife. This bike lane was never actually used, even though 1.7 million euros in European funds were allocated for it. Over the next week, the removed signs and bollards will be replaced by parking spaces. In total, nearly 160 new parking spots will be created in the area, with 91 of them specifically for motorcycles.

Evelyn Alonso, the Mobility Councilor for Santa Cruz City Council, announced yesterday that the dismantling will continue until next Thursday. Work will happen at night, from 9 PM to 6 AM, which means some roads will be fully or partly closed depending on the section. There might also be some sign work during the day as the project progresses.

By yesterday morning, new parking spots for motorcycles and delivery vehicles were already marked out along much of Méndez Núñez street. These new areas are open for public use as soon as each section is finished.

By the end of the week, the city center, specifically between Weyler square and La Marina street, will have more public parking. The new spaces will include:

• Around 35 for loading and unloading (residents can use these from 6 PM to 8 AM).
• 91 for motorcycles.
• 10 for businesses like hotels or clinics.
• 6 for people with reduced mobility (PMR).
• 9 for taxis.
• 1 for personal mobility vehicles (VMP).
• 2 new bus stops.

To make these changes, the road space will be reallocated as follows:

• 222 meters for loading and unloading zones (creating between 30 and 43 spaces).
• 137 meters for motorcycles (91 spaces).
• 47 meters for taxis (9 spaces).
• 42 meters for bus stops (2 stops).
• 42 meters for spaces for people with reduced mobility (6 spaces).
• 15 meters for personal mobility vehicles like scooters and bicycles.
• 96 meters for reserved parking for businesses (10 spaces).

The 10 spaces reserved for businesses will be distributed as follows: two for the Blood Donation Institute, one for Ortomecano orthopedics, one for the Parque children's center, three ambulance spaces at the Parque clinic, one for the Príncipe Paz hotel, and two for the Inside hotel.

The City Council is removing the bike lane network in the city center because the justice system ordered a halt to the project. This order came after a complaint from the neighborhood association El Perenquén, which successfully challenged the city's Mobility and Traffic rules.