The political parties fighting the local elections in 2019 answer questions posed by Para Una Xabia Sostenible based on the EDUSI project
Question 3
We need sustainable mobility to structure the town. Not everything must be a private vehicle. The great dependency that now exists on the private car must be corrected. Do you agree that this is a problem? If so, how will you solve it?
Compromis reply
Yes, the dominance of private vehicles is a growing problem for today's Xàbia. With the perspective of the ecological transition and the electric motor, it is a matter of urgency. The first problem of mobility is the small number, frequency and quality of service of urban and interurban buses. This tender depends on the Generalitat, and with Compromís in the government in Valencia we commit ourselves to work hand in hand with the Consellería to increase the frequencies of passage and the quality of the service in the line that unites the three urban centers.
But in addition, we can do more things: with the Town Council healthy and without debt we can allow ourselves to think of new bus lines, managed by the council, between urban centres and major developments, to discourage residents from using cars, especially in summer and high season. The Town Hall of Benissa has made it possible, connecting the town with its beaches in what was a historical demand, and we think that in Xàbia it is also feasible. We think that it is necessary to invest in something that is a an important right of citizens.
We must complement this with the construction of safe bicycle lanes for bicycles and other electric vehicles that are becoming more and more frequent -patinets, wheelchairs, etc.- directly connecting urban centres and urbanisations. There will be no sustainable mobility without a secure infrastructure. In areas where we govern, Compromís is very committed to bike lanes with València as the best known case, and we want to do the same in Xàbia. In addition, and given the steep hills in some areas of the municipality and the profile of our residents, with many elderly people, we believe that it is necessary to have a public system of renting electrically assisted bicycles, such as those which are already operating in Madrid and Barcelona. We have to provide all facilities so that people opt for cycling and sustainable mobility.
In addition, we must start to implement a public network of charging points for electric vehicles, thinking about the transition that will take place in the next decade and the plans of the Government of Spain in this regard. This, in addition, can help us to implement a local renewable energy plan.
Partido Popular reply
A) Encourage efficient public transport, with smaller electric vehicles (mini-buses), but with a more frequent timetable; and to implement a new electric mini-bus service to serve the urbanizations "on demand", through an application that allows the connection between this service and the users of the urbanizations; as well as promoting the use of shared vehicles that allow more travel with fewer vehicles and fewer parking spaces.
B) Update and revise the project of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) of 2009, and approve it as soon as possible, since this plan will guide us in the mobility policies that Xàbia needs.
C) Expand the bike lanes to facilitate the use of the bicycle; if possible all the streets should be one way in the urban centres, which would facilitate widening the sidewalks, placing benches, and improving the lighting for pedestrians and not for cars. As well as, reduce the speed allowed to vehicles in the urban centres of Xàbia, creating zones of calm traffic.
D) Promote recharging points for electric vehicles.
PSOE reply
All the important cities, especially those governed by progressive parties, are committed to making the transition from private vehicles to sustainable transport. It is a fundamental challenge to fight against climate change and for the security, pacification and coexistence of our places of residence. In this sense, we are convinced that the future is about rethinking the role of the private car.
However, towns with less than 50,000 inhabitants (such as Xàbia) cannot negotiate their public transport individually, but rather they are subject to a regional agreement which brings together larger areas. What we can do is negotiate within that joint package to have a greater frequency of service, new routes, etc. And that is being done for months now. We have also reduced the taxes for electric vehicles to the minimum and recharging points have been planned. Experiments such as the train to Granadella have been carried out successfully, bike lane maintenance has been carried out, the installation of a bicycle rental company has been facilitated … it is a complex road and a global challenge, but it is in the center of our agenda.
Ciudadanos reply
Indeed, it is a structural problem that we must address between us. However, we cannot begin to change the habit of moving from one urban centre to another by public transport until we have a transport network that works, with ecological vehicles that do not congest the urban centre, but especially, a system with which we do not have to wait an hour to go from the village to the beach, for example, and with routes that take into account that Xàbia has to be approached from the urbanizations. To bet on the use of public transport, we will have to sit down and talk about what the needs are, not only at the level of Xàbia but throughout the region, since we have to improve interurban transport connections, relying on the bonuses to young people through calls for aid.
In addition, we understand that we must continue to promote the use of bicycles to have a safe, healthy and accessible Xàbia, with well connected and signposted bike path, also studying how to enable pedestrian areas along the river and enhancing our green spaces.
Podemos reply
As in any city, transportation is one of the main causes of pollution and in which we can act more effectively and affectively. In Xàbia public transport is virtually non-existent. Our proposals include
• Optimization of the current urban transport system with a project to municipalize the service.
• Installation of a network of electric buses (minimum 3), with shorter, complementary and more frequent routes.
• Establish a network of electric bicycles and also electric cars (car sharing).
• Functional network of bicycle lanes, which implies the extension, connection and reform of the existing lanes; as well as the creation of intercity bike lanes.
• Demand the extension of the railway network and reinstate the bus connection to the train in Gata (when it returns).
Ciudadanos por Jávea reply
Of course we must correct the dependence on private vehicles, and we also incorporate electric vehicles into our lives. And as for public transport, the City Council has much to say and to improve, the responsibility of urban transport is municipal. Above 50,000 inhabitants it is obligatory to provide urban transport, and with fewer inhabitants it is optional.
In Xàbia the Town hall leases a part of its urban transport, but there is no impediment for the Town Hall to complement it, in fact that they are the small electric trains (Granadella and tourist train).
You also have to pledge on bike lanes as junctions between the urban centres. And promote the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan.
