Date set for pedestrianisation of Alicante’s Town Hall Square

Mayor Luis Barcala said that the plan to make Alicante’s Town Hall Square pedestrian-only is progressing forward. After the Health Promotion Awards event, reporters questioned the Mayor about when the project will be finished.

The Mayor said during the debate on the condition of the city on October 13th that the project will have two parts: one to block the route to private cars and another to make sure it stays closed to traffic. Barcala said that the first phase will happen “immediately,” or “before the end of the year.”

Advertisements

The Mayor of Alicante has declared that they will endeavour to make this first phase happen during the Christmas season “so that pedestrianisation can be enjoyed, if not completely, almost completely.” During the Christmas season, there are events in the Town Hall Square, and the gigantic nativity scene, which residents love, is on display.

The technical standards say that the figurines must be “transported, assembled, maintained, and restored” between November 15th and January 7th. On December 7th of last year, the gigantic nativity scene was opened for the first time.

There is no information on the second phase

Barcala said that the second phase of pedestrianising the square, which would fully block vehicles and public transportation, would happen “immediately afterward,” although he didn’t give any particular dates. He said that “the redistribution and flow of urban transport” is what “concerns” him, and that full pedestrianisation will happen “when the entire urban transport distribution system has been redesigned.” He says that this part is “the key to everything” since “public transport must be guaranteed.”

In the debate about the city’s future, Barcala said, “Next year the square will be closed to traffic and will be for the enjoyment of all citizens.” Remember that this project came about because traffic had to stop when big pieces of rubble fell from the front of the city hall building.

The City Council said in January of this year that it would permanently block the route to traffic. This incident, which did not hurt anyone, happened in October 2024. The work was promised to be done in 2025, but it won’t be done until then.

One unique thing that happened because of this project was that traffic was allowed back into City Hall Square in January. Barcala remembered how he had criticised the left-wing tripartite coalition that ran the city from 2015 to 2018 for “closing the central Avenida de la Constitución to traffic with four flowerpots.”

Flowerpots ensured that the Town Hall Square would be closed to cars from October to January. This made the mayor decide to reopen it to vehicles until the pedestrianisation scheme was fully in place. So far, the ultimate completion date for the project is still up in the air. The mayor has said that it will be done “immediately” after the end of the year, but he hasn’t given any further information.

Author: Derek Appleton