Source: own
The change is already there and many do not want to see it, a paradigm shift that will change the way we move through city centres, moving from the majority use of cars to the use of bicycles and public transport. A change forced, of course, by the push for a more sustainable mentality, leading us to a concept of cities more respectful of the environment and designed for the enjoyment of citizens, where the car will gradually disappear.
However, there are citizens who resist, like those of my city, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. A city dominated by the dictatorship of the car, which is being questioned by political leaders who know that we need a friendlier and more sustainable city in all senses.
It is true that there is an alternative and it is none other than to encourage the use of public transport. A public transport that is currently not efficient and is not because it has an enemy that prevents it from being so, and that enemy is none other than the multitude of cars that collapse this city at all hours, except at night, which makes its punctuality and schedule go to the garbage and never be fulfilled.
The political leaders have designed an alternative to alleviate, in part, the damage of the car collapses and that alternative is called Metroguagua. A transportation system that will have an exclusive lane that will cross the city from end to end, without affecting the possible traffic jams. Without a doubt, it is a firm bet that they are on the right path to offer efficient public transportation.
The other alternative is the promotion and use of the bicycle. This means of transport has proved to be a valid alternative to the car and even more so in a city such as Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where the climate favours its use at all times of the year.
The public authorities have understood this and are encouraging its use with the implementation of bicycle lanes in the city. Bike lanes that are soliviantando the mood of many citizens because they do not accept the change of paradigm and want to remain under the yoke of the car, attacking urban cyclists, saying that many do not respect the rules of circulation, but perhaps, they only see the straw in the eye of others and do not see the beam they have in theirs.
What is certain is that a city with fewer cars is a better city and there are clear examples in the world and we, the citizens of this city, must aspire to that.
Photograph taken with Acer Liquid Z630
