The lack of visibility due to containers, lane occupation and speed put children at a special risk of being run over.
The running over of a twelve-year-old boy at a pedestrian crossing on Reina Victoria Avenue, which forced the minor to be treated at the Santa Lucía Hospital and whose causes are being investigated by the Cartagena Local Police, sparked concern among the neighbors a few days ago. particularly among parents of schoolchildren. With the precedent of this incident at the beginning of the new academic year, and coinciding with the start of the construction works of 17 “intelligent” pedestrian crossings by the City Council, with priority for the surroundings of the educational centers, the municipal agents have sounded the alarm.
In a report sent to the Local Police Headquarters, and which it has in turn sent to the Public Highway area, they have warned of the special risk of accidents, in particular run over, in more than twenty crosses distributed by the municipality .
The panorama of the Alameda de San Antón stands out, where according to the agents “there is a long section devoid of any signal, except for the traffic light intersections, and where there are areas without a garden that “invite the crossing of a road with three lanes ». Vía Pública promised in January to replace four zebra crossings, which were suppressed at the time with the indicated consequences.
The replacement of four safe crossings is still pending in the Alameda de San Antón and one is missing in Ronda de La Unión
The Local Police also indicates, in the urban center, the avenue of the Canton with Sebastián Feringán; Juan de la Cosa street, near the Sauces park; Juan Fernández street, next to the Santa Florentina market, the Franciscanos school and Los Juncos park; Menéndez Pelayo street, next to Isen; and Ronda de La Unión, next to the Language School (due to the absence of a step).
As for the neighborhoods and councils, some areas at risk are Víctor Beltrí Avenue, at the height of the Vía Verde de Barrio Peral; Floridablanca street in Los Dolores, next to Mercadona; the Plaza del Hondo, in El Algar; Diego Nicosia street, in La Aljorra; the road to La Aljorra; and Emilio Ballester Street, in Pozo Estrecho.
Pivots and signage
Sources from the Department of Citizen Security, which, like the Department of Public Roads, is headed by the mayor Juan Pedro Torralba, explained that among the reasons for considering these areas as black spots for traffic, the lack of visibility stands out; the volume of vehicles and pedestrians that circulate daily through them; the proximity of schools, institutes and parks; as well as the frequency of speeding by cars, vans, motorcycles and even trucks.
One of the problems that the City Council has not tackled for years, and which contributes to this situation, is the poor location of waste and clothing containers. The municipal authorities have also not put in place solutions to eliminate parking spaces located next to pedestrian crossings and to replace the pivots that prevented them from being occupied or to use other formulas.
Some already classic examples are Juan de la Cosa street, at the height of the social premises of Sauces; Murcia avenue, in front of the La Paz bar (near Carmen Conde street); and Ramón y Cajal street, at the intersection with Jorge Juan avenue. The Consistory itself has aggravated the situation by opening spaces at the access to Calle Asdrúbal from Alameda de San Antón. And the improvement of the crossing of Pintor Portela with Jacinto Benavente is pending.
This last street stands out badly for one of the most obvious dangerous sections. This is the environment of the Maristas school, where the right lane of traffic, in the direction of Ronda de La Unión, is permanently occupied by up to seven vehicles. The Local Police has ruled out notifying the tow truck to remove the cars and has opted in recent days for the simplest solution, which also reports income to the municipal coffers: carry out raids with the Multacar car, whose camera obtains images of the wrong vehicles. parked to write tickets. Despite this measure, lane encroachment continues, reducing visibility and putting schoolchildren and family members at serious risk of being run over. Only the presence of an agent to regulate traffic gives security to pedestrians, in some hours of entry and exit from the center.
Seven cars permanently invade a lane on Jacinto Benavente street, in the surroundings of the Maristas school
The City Council has begun work to improve this zebra crossing and sources from the Local Police assured that they will propose complementary measures to Public Roads and Infrastructures. They cited the improvement of signs and road markings, the installation of speed bumps and the possible placement of pivots. They will also consider mounting guardrails on various sidewalks, as some drivers climb on them despite the risk of accidents for children.
The Local Police have also notified Vía Pública of the clamorous risk of being run over at the zebra crossing in Ronda de Ferrol at the height of the open-air car park of the Ramón Alonso Luzzy cultural center. The entrances and exits are made through the crossing itself for pedestrians.
In general, in the government team, led by the mayor Noelia Arroyo, they assured that they are redoubling efforts to increase the safety of the streets and be consistent with the awareness that the City Council itself preaches to schoolchildren in the courses of the Parque de Vial education.
Tentegorra and the Rambla
More than a thousand students from 19 public centers passed through it last year. And, at the inauguration of the new cycle, Torralba stressed that “teachers and students will learn first-hand the importance of respect and civility, whether they are pedestrians or drivers.” And he stressed that, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the School of Public Safety (Espac) of this cycle, the Department of Education, directed by Irene Ruiz, will disclose “the importance of respecting the traffic regulations for the reduction of injuries in accidents of traffic, promoting the use of the bicycle as a healthy and ecological means of transport».
The City Council also has among its pending subjects the total development of the Safe School Path program, to encourage children to go to their centers on foot and to do so in safe conditions.
As recent advances, the local government cited the pedestrian itinerary to the San Vicente de Paúl school from Nueva Cartagena and the provision of a parking lot for about 30 vehicles; the installation of an “intelligent” traffic light and the reinforcement of security elements next to the Atalaya school, on Avenida del Cantón; and forthcoming improvements to the accesses to the Juan Sebastián Elcano institute and the Virgen de Begoña school, both in Tentegorra.
War to the occupation of lanes and to the double row with the Multacar
The Local Police has intensified the fight against the double queue and the improper occupation of lanes in the environment of schools and institutes of Cartagena, through the use of the vehicle called Multacar. It is about guaranteeing the safety of schoolchildren and the rest of the educational communities, given the lack of control detected by the agents in the first weeks of the course. The Ensanche is one of the areas where municipal officials encounter the most problems on a daily basis, although there are also situations of risk of being run over and traffic blocked in different areas of neighborhoods and councils. The regulation of traffic is completed with the presence of agents in the environment of educational centers, sources from the Department of Citizen Security and Public Highways explained.
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