Free Parking for Shoppers in the Old Town
A minibus will make the trip from the Arenal to the Old Town
From Xabia al Día - Parking gratis para los clientes....
August 7th 2008
There is no excuse for not going up to the Old Town for shopping.
Since last week customers of shops belonging to the Traders' Association will get half an hour free parking if they shop in establishments that display a distinctive sign. All businesses that belong to this scheme have a promotional blue poster which displays a white "P" for Parking. They can give their customers half an hour of free parking in either of the underground car parks.
The minimum purchase required to get the discount is set by each business, and is made public. Tickets are cumulative, in order to encourage customers to visit other Old Town businesses, and there is no need to redeem them on the same day. Some informational leaflets have also been prepared and distributed via the Xàbia Tourism Offices.
This campaign is made possible by an offer that “Estacionaments Urbans de Xàbia” made to local traders, discounting 50% of the value of parking tickets. Also, the Town Council will cover 25%, so that traders need to pay only the remaining 25%.
The initiative is having a good reception among traders. Although this promotional campaign started only a week ago, several businesses have already requested more books of tickets.
According to the announcement made by the president of the traders association, this promotional campaign is the first of a series of actions that the association will carry out to boost trade in the Old Town, and are designed with a view to the future open commercial/shopping centre there. In this regard, They are working to create a brand name and logo which will be decided upon by shopkeepers and residents of the Old Town. They hope to inaugurate the commercial shopping centre next November.
A Minibus to the Centre
The remodeled Old Town streets are too narrow for a normal bus, and therefore following the request of residents and shopkeepers, the Council has asked the bus service company to expand its fleet with a minibus.
As from Monday next, a 22 seater bus will complement the current service, and make a round trip every half hour. The journey will begin at the post office, go down via Príncipe de Asturias with a stop at the Plaza del Convento, and continue by the Ronda Colón, Ronda Sur, Avenida Alicante , Puerto and Canal de la Fontana bridge.
This new bus service will leave the Old Town on the hour (from 9 am to 13h and 17h-21h) and leave Arenal on the half hour (9:30 am to 13:30 pm and 17:30 pm to 21:30 pm), and tickets will be €1.20 cents (same as the regular bus).
According to the announcement by the Councillor responsible, John Ortolá, the service is more expensive than the regular one, but the Council has decided to bear the additional cost with no negative impact on the customer.
Commitment to the Old Town
The Councillor for Finance, Vincent Chorro, explained that this is only the beginning of aid to shopkeepers and residents of the Old Town, and noted that the Council also subsidises the garbage tax rates of traders affected by the works. In fact, the budget of 2008 includes a provision of € 30,000 for this purpose. Chorro used the opportunity to make clear that the council takes the problems of merchants and neighbors of the Old Town very seriously. In fact most of the requests made by these groups at the demonstration last week are being addressed.
