New Protest to Demand Access to Alicante's Parque del Mar

The Vecinos Parque del Mar Association, the Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of South Alicante (Favsa), and the 'Variante de Torrellano, ya' platform have organised a protest this Sunday, 27th April at 12 noon, to urge the authorities to establish new pedestrian crossings to Parque del Mar before this summer, allowing residents of nearby neighbourhoods to access this area. The march will proceed along Elche Avenue, from Mexico Street to Architect Miguel López Square, next to Casa Mediterráneo.

Specifically, the entities are urging Adif, the Ministry of Transport, the Generalitat, and the Alicante City Council "to reach a definitive and immediate agreement for the release of the abandoned lands" of the railway infrastructure management company next to Casa Mediterráneo and the park, and to provide "the necessary means urgently" to initiate these accesses.

"The excuses are over, patience has run out, and the time for waiting is over. More than 15 years have passed waiting for access to a park that has been inaccessible since the day it opened. This is more than enough time to have reached an agreement if there was genuine and sincere interest from both parties to achieve it," commented the Vecinos Parque del Mar Association.

In a statement, the neighbourhood entity emphasised that, in recent years, it has submitted "numerous documents" and met with local, regional, national, and European political leaders. They even travelled to Madrid on 2nd February 2023 to meet with officials from the Ministry of Transport and the director of the State Secretary of Transport's office. "They told us it was a matter of a few months to sign the land transfer agreement, which has been unused for more than half a century. Despite this meeting, the situation has not advanced significantly," they explained.

At this point, they added that in March 2025, the Ministry of Transport and Adif "indicated they were waiting for studies from the Alicante City Council to sign the agreement that would allow the removal of the disused tracks at Casa Mediterráneo."

Thus, the neighbourhood association has maintained that Parque del Mar "has been inaccessible for over 15 years to the thousands of potential users from nearby neighbourhoods due to the existence of obsolete tracks on lands that are in a deplorable state of neglect, despite being located in the heart of the city."

"Access to quality green spaces should be a right for citizens, as enjoying shaded areas where they can find recreation spots safe from high temperatures is an increasingly pressing need to safeguard the health and well-being of citizens, especially in cities like Alicante, which are increasingly exposed to climate change," the entity concluded.

Similarly, they asserted that they are "tired of the different administrations involved passing the buck while citizens, in this case, the most economically vulnerable, especially the elderly and children who do not have second homes or money to pay for an air conditioning system or the bill for that consumption, can have nearby green areas to cool off during the hottest hours."