The idea of opening up the beach road to 2-way traffic was supposed to be an apaño (temporary fix) to the problem caused by the new paseo wall – in that aspect, it has obviously failed.

The original project, which was to convert the Calahonda-La Chucha beach road to 1-way traffic, has undergone some changes, but the all-bothersome wall continues to stand: to make room for the wall, the road had to be narrowed; hence traffic being restricted to one direction only. The wall was built to stop cars parking on the beach – a condition from the department of Costas for approving the project for the new paseo.

To compensate for the lost parking, five small parking areas were conceived, but the trouble is that the wall was built but the parking areas haven’t been – they are still pending. So, come the summer, chaos was ensured; hence the desperate re-opening of the road to 2-way traffic.

The reason that the envisaged parking areas haven’t materialised is because the land on which they will sit belongs to farmers, who aren’t that keen on the idea of letting go of it. Nevertheless, the new Mayoress, Concepcion Abarca, is optimistic that the problem will be resolved by next summer.

In the meantime, beach goers find parking where they can; along side of the plastic greenhouses, along service lanes, with the result of jamming up the traffic flow.

The campsite, Don Cactus, is adversely affected, as camper vans just can’t get down there, some of which are up to six metres long.

It’s not much better for the beach goers who were lucky enough to find parking, because trying to cross the road with a clutch of children and beach equipment can be quite dangerous. However, precisely because the road is so narrow, cars have to move slowly, so, yes it is a busy road, but the traffic on it moves slowly.

And then we come to the wall itself, which apart from wiping out all the hitherto parking, also presents an obstacle to beach goers with mobility problems, as the gaps are few and far between.

Lastly, the highly unpopular wall is also an obstacle to people wanting to launch small craft off the beach, such as jet-skis, etc.

Oh well, at least the wall will keep invading Barbarians out…

(News: Carchuna, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)