The municipal group Junts per Tortosa has denounced the continuous delays, lack of transparency, and possible modifications to the project for the second parking lot on the old Renfe grounds. Spokesperson Meritxell Roigé stated that this development is “necessary for the city” but “continues to accumulate improvisations, technical shortcomings, and a clear lack of planning by the municipal government”.
Roigé recalled that the governing team has taken almost three years to start works that were already planned, and affirmed that the project's execution “has come after repeated demands made by Junts per Tortosa over the last two years”. In this regard, the spokesperson explained that the works were supposed to finish at the end of the first quarter, but an extension was granted which ends next Saturday, June 13th.
“"It is evident that the development will not be finished, and neither Ms. Lleixà nor Mr. Jordan have provided any explanation for the accumulated delays. We want to know if any project modifications have been processed, if there have been incidents during the execution of the work, if a new extension has been approved, and who takes responsibility for this mess."
The spokesperson noted that for weeks the works have been practically stalled and considered that the government's lack of transparency generates even more doubts. In this sense, she criticized that both the mayor and the Urban Planning councilor denied in the municipal plenary and in committee that modifications were occurring while, as she said, “no one is explaining what is really happening”.
Junts per Tortosa believes that at first glance it appears changes have been made to the initial project, as concrete has been incorporated in some areas of the parking lot that were not foreseen in the project. “If changes are being introduced, it must be explained what they are, why they are being made, and what impact they will have on the cost and deadlines of the work,” she demanded, urging transparency from the tripartite government to explain the real status of this development.
The spokesperson also recalled the requests made by her municipal group for the tripartite government to rectify the project to avoid short or medium-term problems. Among other issues, she reiterated that the planned gravel pavement does not offer adequate durability guarantees for an infrastructure of this nature. She also argued that the internal access road should become an open connection, not restricted to emergencies.
Likewise, she warned that the project continues to lack an internal network for collecting and evacuating rainwater connected to the existing collector. According to Roigé, the disappearance of the current slope will cause a significant amount of water from the Simpàtica area and Poeta Vicent Garcia street to flow directly into this area, which could generate water accumulation problems during heavy rainfall.
Another issue that Junts per Tortosa considers pending is the definition of the management model for the future parking lot. Roigé recalled that over the last year and a half, various options have been proposed, from a rotation parking lot to the possibility of implementing a 'zona taronja' (orange zone), an expansion of the 'zona blava' (blue zone), or a payment system. “The citizens deserve to know what the government's real proposal is,” she pointed out. As she indicated, if it is ultimately necessary to modify the municipal ordinance to implement a regulated system, administrative deadlines make it difficult for the parking lot to become operational immediately.
Finally, the spokesperson also recalled that the current project includes 201 parking spaces for vehicles, a figure that is 64 spaces less than those planned in the proposal developed during the previous term. In this regard, she argued that the space could have been organized more efficiently to increase its capacity.
