Alicante City Council is designing a brand new mobility model through its Structural General Plan (PGE), featuring a better distributed, polycentric and hierarchical road network. The new strategy focuses heavily on achieving a substantial reduction in traffic along both the seafront and the central old town, whilst improving road, pedestrian and cycling connections between different neighbourhoods and with other municipalities.
The Councillor for Urban Planning, Antonio Peral, pointed out that the PGE offers an opportunity to redesign Alicante’s mobility model. The aim is to evolve from a concentric system into a radial and polycentric layout that connects neighbourhoods with one another, encourages active travel and progressively decreases traffic along the seafront and the historic old town.
To achieve these objectives, the PGE proposes diverting traffic towards four metropolitan ring roads. This will ensure a balanced distribution of traffic flows and free the coastal front from a portion of through traffic, according to a statement released by the local authority.
Amongst the actions proposed by the City Council is the extension of the Gran Vía towards San Juan beach. Additionally, the completion and direct connection of Vía Parque with the A-79 will allow the second ring road to be closed and will absorb traffic currently concentrated along the coast and the central area. The plan also includes the construction of a new linking axis to connect Avenida Dénia with the A-79.
Furthermore, a new metropolitan ring road will be built over the A-70, transforming its most urban section into a green boulevard integrated into the city. The A-70 will also be converted between the junctions of the A-77 and the CV-821, which will eliminate the barrier effect between different neighbourhoods and urban areas by incorporating landscaped spaces and seating areas. This strategy is complemented by a network of continuous pedestrian and cycling itineraries, as well as transverse connections that will promote the integration of neighbourhoods currently fragmented by infrastructure.
