Traders in Borne are looking forward to traffic free future

Staff Reporter TRADERS in the Borne are considering asking the city council to pedestrianise the area, once the underground carpark now being built in Avda Antonio Maura, which leads to the Borne, is completed.This was confirmed yesterday by Carolina Domingo, chair of the Borne's traders association. She said that restricting traffic to residents' cars and public transport was “an almost unthinkable dream, but not impossible,” and traders are considering the possibility for when the car park is completed in about two years' time. She added that the city council would have to evaluate the possibility, just as it did before pedestrianising the narrow side of the Borne (on the right if standing in Plaza Reina). The traders are fully aware of the problems which the construction of the car park will bring, but they feel it is “a passing headache” which will bring major benefits to mobility in the future. It should not have any effect on sales, because, Domingo said, if sales are down it is because of the crisis and lack of tourists, no road works. “Customers complain that there is nowhere to park, and it is that which can lead to loss of sales,” she said yesterday. Having more than 800 parking spaces available in the area will decongest traffic in the city centre and, according to Domingo, means that people will be able to shop and go for a stroll at the same time, as they do in Calles Olmos, San Miguel and the Plaza España. She appealed to the city council to boost public transport, and above all, to inform people of parking possibilities and streets which are for pedestrians only. Domingo also said that traders in the centre were studying the possibility of offering free parking for customers, to encourage them to visit the city centre. The Borne links Avda Antonio Maura and Plaza Reina with Plaza Juan Carlos and Avenida Jaime III. The roads leading off it to the right lead to the main Post Office and pedestrian shopping areas such as San Nicolas, and to the left to La Lonja, with its many bars and restaurants.