Jed Neill
TRAFFIC on the Costa del Sol could be greatly reduced under plans by the Junta to drastically overhaul its current transport infrastructure.
The plans include scrapping the toll charge along the AP-7, introducing cycle lanes and widening the roads from San Pedro to Ronda (A-397) and Marbella to Cartama (A-355) as well as a light rail transport link to run alongside the A-7.
However, there was no mention of a high-speed rail link that has been long promised to connect Malaga to the western part of the Costa del Sol.
The draft plan called Plan de Ordenación del Territorio (POT), is part of a 20-year scheme to ease mobility along the coast and is more than 200 pages long.
New access routes were pencilled in to directly connect Benahavis, Istan, Elviria, Mijas and Fuengirola to the AP-7.
Environment minister Jose Fiscal said tensions with previous POTs have been addressed after the previous plan was annulled by the Supreme Court.
“Planning has to be an ally of economic growth, and we should never slow it down,” he said.
The plans are not yet written in ink as the Junta does not have the power to remove tolls or construct new access routes.
All it can do is reserve land for future construction and wait for the POT to be voted on in the Spanish parliament.
