Santa Cruz Residents Share Ideas for New Mobility Rules

People living in Santa Cruz are now sharing their ideas for the city's upcoming Mobility and Road Safety rules. The Santa Cruz City Council opened an online portal on its website on the 12th, allowing residents to submit their suggestions and opinions until February 14th. These contributions will help shape the new regulations.

This public feedback process is split into four main areas. These cover the issues the new rules aim to fix, why these rules are needed, what the rules hope to achieve (like managing cars, bikes, scooters, and pedestrians, while keeping roads safe and promoting eco-friendly travel), and finally, different solutions that could be put in place.

So far, a common theme among participants is that the lack of parking is a major cause of traffic problems. To address this, residents have suggested several ideas: limiting how much space motorcycles and personal mobility vehicles (like scooters) take up on sidewalks; introducing school bus routes or shuttle services to stop parents from dropping off and picking up children right at school gates; creating large car parks on the city's edge with frequent 15-minute bus services to bring people into the center; setting specific delivery times for businesses; and reducing the size of outdoor terraces that block public roads and make it hard to move around.

They also want to see more campaigns to raise awareness and educate people about modern city travel. Other suggestions include encouraging car-sharing instead of private cars, which would mean fewer vehicles driving around looking for parking, and adding more bike parking spots, especially near schools.

Further ideas include building a tunnel under La Rambla to link highway exits and entrances with Anaga, bypassing the city center; constructing a multi-story car park near the Santos ravine to offer more central parking; and introducing special parking cards, similar to loyalty vouchers, where people who work in Santa Cruz could earn discount points for local shops with each parking session.

Residents also expressed a desire for wider sidewalks and more shaded areas. They believe this would encourage people to walk instead of drive, making the city greener, easier to get around, and more pleasant.

Because of this, they suggest the new rules should focus on making walking easier, adding more shade, and improving public spaces. They also want to see public transport strengthened with shuttle buses and park-and-ride options located outside the main city area.

Scooters are another topic residents have commented on. They are asking for stricter controls and better parking solutions for scooters, such as limiting their top speed on certain streets, banning them on specific holidays, or even stopping them from being carried on public transport.

The strongest criticism comes from the neighborhood association El Perenquén. This group successfully challenged the previous Mobility rules in court, which also led to a city center bike lane project being stopped by legal action.

El Perenquén emphasizes that any city rules must be agreed upon with residents, businesses, suppliers, health services, firefighters, and the police. They are urging the City Council to "address the hundreds of complaints and petitions we have been submitting for years."

Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz City Council is determined to implement new Mobility rules. These rules will manage traffic, parking, and the use of roads and newer vehicles like scooters, with a strong focus on sustainability and the Low Emission Zone (LEZ).