The road that runs alongside the post-transfer canal as it passes through Orihuela Costa will continue to be open to pedestrian traffic, at least for the moment, only with the current prohibition that prevents access to motor vehicles.
Last Tuesday, the matter was discussed during a meeting held between Orihuela City Council and the Segura Hydrographic Confederation (CHS).
The mess arose after the CHS threatened to close the road to traffic completely following the threat of taking legal action launched in a letter by the President of the Party for the Independence of Orihuela Costa (PIOC), Román Jiménez.
Jiménez said that the state of this road is dangerous and that it lacks maintenance. He gave as an example the state of the railing on the bridge that crosses the canal between Calles Papaya and Estrecho de Mesina, near Villamartín. The railing has given way and, instead of being replaced, it has been cordoned with portable fences joined together with police tape.
The Council, responsible for the repair – and not the CHS – now says that it will repair it.
CHS says that the road can only be officially used for canal maintenance tasks, however, they have said that conversations continue with the City Council, which, in turn, acknowledges nothing beyond the fact that the issue was addressed at last Tuesday’s meeting.
The conflict is of concern to the municipal government team. It is a road widely used by residents to walk and run as a peaceful and flat haven in the middle of the urban maelstrom of the Oriola coast. The Council, therefore, did not want the majority of residents to be penalised by a surprise closure.
This was also shared by the Neighborhood Association of Cabo Roig and Lomas, (AVCRL), which also requested a bilateral agreement between both institutions that regulates the use and maintenance of the road.
In the past, following its misuse, the CHS already located metal gates and concrete blocks to prevent the passage of vehicles that used this road as a shortcut between Orihuela Costa and with San Miguel de Salinas but now, having put an end to the danger of traffic accidents, the most serious thing that could happen would be that a pedestrian or cyclist accidentally fell into the canal that channels irrigation water from La Pedrera to Campo de Cartagena.
