Residents Rally in Alicante to Demand Central Park Construction

More than 22 years have passed for the residents of the neighbourhoods surrounding the railway tracks, waiting for the construction of Alicante's Central Park on the land freed by Adif. The wait has become increasingly burdensome, and residents demand its immediate completion. Representatives from thirteen neighbourhood and social associations in the city took to the streets of Alicante this Friday to highlight this demand.

The march began at 7 PM from the ficus at the roundabout of the Red Bridge. Through their protest, they called for more information from the Avant Society—comprising the City Council, Generalitat, and Adif—and also urged that work on the park should proceed while legal deadlines continue to advance. In fact, residents insist that the construction of the green area itself should be separated from the urban development of the area and the construction of infrastructures such as the Intermodal station.

"A park is inexpensive to build, so there should be enough funds to do it. That's why we ask for this project to start as soon as possible," explains Vicente Alcaraz, a representative of the Neighbourhood for a Central Park association.

For this reason, they will request Avant to provide information on the accounts of this entity, which annually allocates a certain amount of money for the construction of the Central Park—25% from the City Council and Generalitat and 50% from the State. Residents fear that the timelines will be extended while waiting to profit from the projected housing.

"The detailed plan that should establish the location and space for both the future park and the facilities that may be included, as well as the housing, is all pending technical reports, and the timelines are extended from meeting to meeting," residents express.

These associations have already requested the next meeting for May, "a date by which we were told that the joint presentation with the other administrations would be completed, and therefore the park design should be able to commence," the residents explained.