Beachfront traffic restrictions in Benidorm

NEW rules regulating traffic on the Benidorm Poniente beach front came into force on Monday January 16.

The Avenida Armada Española will now only allow limited access to vehicles which have applied for a special permit from the town hall, this includes residents and emergency or service vehicles.

Plans were originally announced in April 2016 that the road was to become semi-pedestrianised with non-permitted vehicles now having to travel on the Vía Parque if they wish to access La Cala.

To date the council has received over 2,000 applications for permits with other vehicles facing fines detected using cameras with licence plate readers.  These will take the details of each vehicle passing through the restricted zone with unauthorised vehicle owners having just a few weeks to justify why they were in the area without permission.

Councillor José Ramón González de Zárate said: “All residents residing from Jaime I to the Finestrat border are entitled to access and circulate with their vehicles on this stretch of road if they ask for proper authorisation.  Once authorised, they must circulate in coexistence with pedestrians and maximum speeds of up to 20 kilometres per hour.  This new semi-pedestrian scheme will help revitalise the Poniente promenade area.”

The councilman explained that the new system was almost the same as the Levante beachfront road, where in the 1990s similar restrictions were put into place, these initially caused some controversy but it has now become a reference point for pedestrians and vehicles coexisting.

An exception to the rule has been put into place for businesses such as hotels, apartment blocks and pharmacies.  They can ask the town hall for authorisation for clients without being penalised providing they supply the registration number of the visiting vehicle.

Vehicles making deliveries are permitted between the hours of 7am and 10.30am.

Councillor Zárate concluded: “Our goal is not to fine, but to improve the front line area, despite what the public may think.  The measure was announced almost a year ago, has had a test period, which has already managed to greatly reduce the volume of traffic in the area, and there have been several deadlines for the interested parties to be able to register. Now we have to act and that is why we warn everyone that we will begin to deal with those who ignore the restriction.”

To register your vehicle go to: www.benidorm.org/es/ayuntamien to/concejalias/movilidad-y-trafico.