The Compromís per Elx political group has registered a complaint with the Petitions Committee of the European Union with the aim of gaining EU support to force the reinstatement of bike lanes on calles Juan Carlos I and José María Buck in Elche.
Amid protests and complaints from residents, the newly formed PP and VOC coalition government decided to remove these bike lanes, despite the fact they were popular and constantly in use.
The spokesperson for the formation, Esther Díez, has indicated that these actions contravene the objectives of the European Green Pact that wants to achieve climate neutrality for the European continent in the year 2050.
Díez recalled that the infrastructure in Juan Carlos I had allowed a reduction in polluting emissions in the area. Furthermore, she has insisted that the elimination of these bike lanes perverts all subsequent expansion that has been paid for with European funds.
As the bike lanes were also funded by the EU, the money used to construct them mat have to be returned, or, if they are reinstated, there will be more costs which will have to be funded by the taxpayer, who has already footed the bill for their removal.
On Friday the formation carried out the registration and now it has to be admitted for processing by the Petitions Committee, which then follows an examination process and then concludes whether it has to make any decision in this regard. Once accepted for processing, the possibility opens up for any person or entity to join this initiative to support the registry.
For his part, the councillor of the area, Claudio Guilabert, has insisted that they are not going to use sustainable mobility as “a throwing weapon.” Guilabert has clarified to Compromís that if they want to continue resorting to institutions and writings, they can continue doing so.
