The start of the works last Sunday already generated traffic density problems, which have multiplied this Monday. Drivers express surprise at the endless queues, comparing them to traffic flow during the Christmas season or after an accident, despite it being the peak summer period.
The Avenida Marítima has suffered kilometer-long queues, with many drivers attempting to reach the Julio Luengo tunnel to head north, and the San José tunnel has registered unprecedented vehicle density. The bypass will remain closed in the northern direction for 15 days, followed by another 15 days in the southern direction, anticipating a difficult August.
Public Works recommends that traffic heading towards Tamaraceite, Arucas, or Teror be diverted via the Avenida Marítima and the Julio Luengo tunnels towards the GC-23 or GC-2. During the closure in the southern direction, diversions will be via the La Ballena tunnels (GC-23) towards Julio Luengo and the Avenida Marítima to the GC-1.
Drivers' search for alternatives has been fruitless, finding all routes equally congested. The Cabildo requests cooperation and recommends planning trips, consulting alternative routes, and using public transport. However, a user of the Línea 12 of Guaguas Municipales took about 45 minutes to travel from San Telmo to Mesa y López.
The spokesperson for the Popular Party (PP) in the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Jimena Delgado, has denounced the 'disaster of planning and absolute lack of coordination' between the City Council and the Cabildo. She criticizes that the diversion of the daily traffic of around 130,000 vehicles to the Avenida Marítima and the city's road network has been managed with an 'absolutely insufficient' municipal device of a few local police officers and mobility agents.
Delgado stated that the PSOE has introduced 130,000 more vehicles into the city with an inadequate management system, resulting in kilometers of traffic jams and a total collapse of access points. She pointed out that the gridlock was already evident on Sunday and worsened on Monday with the return to work, calling it a consequence of the improvisation and incompetence of both administrations.
The popular spokesperson recalled that the closure of one of Gran Canaria's main arteries was carried out without a traffic management plan commensurate with the scale of the closure. She considers it serious that, with both administrations governed by the same party, they have failed to coordinate. She demands explanations from Carolina Darias and Augusto Hidalgo on how the planned work has caught the City Council and the Cabildo off guard.
The PP demands the immediate convening of a joint device, urgent reinforcement of personnel, and daily publication of traffic data. Delgado concluded that citizens understand the need for works but should not pay for their rulers' lack of management with hours stuck in their vehicles, attributing the chaos to a lack of foresight.
