Tenerife Traffic Solutions Spark Political Clash

The political parties in charge of Tenerife and those opposing them are clashing more and more when it comes to solving the island's traffic problems. This happened at a recent special meeting where the Socialist Group asked the president, Rosa Dávila (CC), to explain what she's doing to deal with the traffic jams.

Rosa Dávila claimed there's been "amazing and significant progress" on the roads. But Aarón Afonso, the spokesperson for the PSOE, criticized her for "creating false hope" and misleading people during the election. He said she promised to end the traffic jams in 90 days. Dávila responded that she had committed to making five decisions to help ease traffic, and she's already done that.

Dávila highlighted 150 actions taken to improve traffic, but the socialists argued that she's made "empty promises" in the last two years. They mentioned things like "express cranes in twenty minutes, park-and-ride facilities, or public transport to work."

Even the fact that more people are using public transport didn't bring the parties together. Both sides claimed credit for the free travel initiative that made it happen. Dávila pointed out that they've added 247 new vehicles and 360 employees to the public transport company, Titsa. "We have the most modern and eco-friendly fleet in Spain," Dávila said, adding that "Tenerife is becoming a leader in sustainable transport."

Afonso countered that the increase in passengers is partly because of changes to bus routes, which now require people to transfer and take multiple buses to reach their destination. "Promoting public transport is a good idea, but the way it's being managed is creating problems," said the socialist spokesperson. He claimed that "buses and trams are packed, there are long lines at bus stations, and buses are often late."

Amidst a flood of data, Dávila stated that "we are at the beginning of change. There's still much to do, but we're already seeing results from our decisions." Aarón Afonso criticized her "overly positive talk" and urged her to "step away from the control tower, go out and ask people how much time they're wasting in traffic."

The president of the Cabildo reported that traffic jams on the TF-1 and TF-5 highways have decreased thanks to strategies like staggering university class times and providing shuttle buses. According to her data, this has reduced travel times between Puerto de la Cruz and La Laguna by 10% to 18% during rush hour, specifically 10% at 8:00 AM.

This means a time saving of 3 minutes on a 30-minute journey, or 6 minutes on a one-hour wait. The 18% reduction at 9:00 AM translates to a 5.4-minute saving on a 30-minute journey.

She added that the direct lanes at the Glorieta de San Isidro (TF-1) have reduced travel times by an average of 15%, reaching 30% during peak hours.