Residents of five neighborhoods in València will demonstrate this Sunday to demand that the Pérez Galdós-Giorgeta tunnel that divides their neighborhoods be eliminated and that the project to renaturalize one of the city's main arteries be continued.
In a statement, the organizers of the protest (a bicycle demonstration that will leave at 11:30 a.m. from Abastos) point out that the council could lose the 12 million in aid that was obtained through the Next Generation funds for the project "if the current government María José Catalá does not present the required documentation before next September 27.”
Faced with this urgency, the Fuera Túnel neighborhood group, created in 2015 to demand the removal of the infrastructure and create a new avenue with trees, wider sidewalks and bike lanes, has also organized a protest rally on September 22, World Car-Free Day. , just above the tunnel, in Pérez Galdós.
“We will continue with this project that the neighbors have democratically requested until it becomes a reality, with or without European funds,” comments María José del Amor, neighbor and spokesperson for the Fuera Túnel collective. Del Amor also asks the neighborhood to join the cause for their health, for neighborhood commerce and to improve their daily quality of life.
The City Council explains to La Vanguardia that although the previous government team (Compromís and PSPV) held a contest of ideas to reformulate the avenue in 2022, since then a traffic study has not been done that details how it may affect the city the removal of a tunnel through which 60,000 vehicles pass daily. Therefore, they point out that before making any decision, this study will be carried out to know what consequences it would have for traffic; “We cannot collapse the city,” the same sources point out.
The winning design, 'Raices', draws a road plan with two lanes in each direction plus a bicycle lane on the northern side of Pérez Galdós and Giorgeta avenues, while the tunnel cover becomes a water reservoir for rainwater.
Regarding the issue of European aid, the council indicates that the project can be reformulated because "what was presented to Europe did not include the elimination of the tunnel."
For their part, the neighbors emphasize that they have spent 8 years “for a friendlier space with less noise pollution and pollution.” They demand "fewer cars, more safety by reducing the weekly accidents that occur in said section, more trees to create shade and lower the temperature of the area in the hottest months and widen the sidewalks for walking, among other advantages." And they add that their proposal would positively affect the neighborhoods of Raiosa, Arrancapins, Patraix, Petxina and Nou Moles, currently divided by the tunnel.
Finally, the neighbors indicate that the space currently occupied by the tunnel could be transformed into a cultural space for events and concerts, as has already been done in other European cities, a water tank or even a children's play area.
