Orihuela Council is formalising and reorganising a long-established informal parking area near La Glea beach in Dehesa de Campoamor, creating 205 marked spaces in an effort to ease summer congestion.
The site, located near the old bridge over the Río Nacimiento and approximately 100 metres from the beach, has been used by motorists for many years. According to the council, the current project will regulate the area and provide a safer, more orderly layout.
Six of the 205 spaces will be reserved for people with reduced mobility. Vehicles will park at a 45-degree angle, while a single entrance and separate exit are intended to improve circulation and make efficient use of the available land.
The project will also provide a designated parking area for coaches, along with vertical signs and other safety measures to regulate traffic within and around the site.
Infrastructure councillor Víctor Valverde said the work responds to the practical needs of residents and visitors. However, some sceptics are already questioning whether the formal marking and regulation of the site could eventually lead to the introduction of paid parking as plans for a coastal blue-zone parking system remain pending.
A report commissioned last year estimated that more than €154,000 would be required to establish the necessary infrastructure, staffing and operational arrangements.
The PP-Vox coalition ordered the study after approving the 2025 municipal budget, which anticipated an additional €375,000 in revenue from regulated coastal parking.
The original proposal envisaged approximately 1,200 controlled spaces operating along the coast during July, August and September. During the same period, blue-zone parking charges in Orihuela city would be suspended.
The previous budget projected municipality-wide ORA parking revenue of €575,000—187 per cent higher than the figure included in the 2024 accounts.
Despite the anticipated income and earlier planning, the coastal blue-zone scheme has yet to be introduced.
However, although the council has presented the La Glea project as a practical measure to improve access and reduce congestion, with paid coastal parking still very much under consideration, some residents are already speculating on social media whether the improvements in Campoamor represent a standalone solution—or are perhaps the thin end of the Blue Zone wedge.
