San Pedro de Alcantara.
San Pedro de Alcántara continues to enhance its appearance and facilities. The tunnel after five years in the making was completed in June 2012 and was a thankful solution to the congestion many drivers experienced on this stretch of the road. At a cost of €90 million it was an unexpected bill, having been originally budgeted at one third of this total.
Nevertheless the traffic connects and flows well now, as you approach the underpass you’re not filled with the dread and despair that had you fuelled with panic before!
Now we are happily awaiting the new initiative, the completion of the project that was set to competition and the winning vision of Architect Juan Antonio Fernández. A competition initiated by the TEMPORARY UNION of ENTERPRISES, formed by the local firms Bonifacio Solis and Comonsa.
The visionary architect has created an Environmental Project much sought after by locals of San Pedro. Connecting the sea to urban areas and the historic centre of San Pedro.
The union will be held together by a central park, a park they are saying will be “full of vitality”.
‘Un mar de sensaciones’. – ‘A sea of sensations’.
This will play out visually as the construction will depict waves of sea formed by a very lightweight metal structure on steel pillars, all erected at different heights, for varying viewpoints.
The scale of the Project is vast:
- 54,700 square metres (900 linear metres x 60 metres wide)
- 35,000 metres of paved area
- 11,000 metres of green zones
- 9,000 metres of shrubs and plants
- 1,000 metres of grasslands
- 2,000 metres of water features
The architect has dubbed it a “reconciliation of the past with the present”. As towns and cities grow up we lose our sense of community and our contact with nature. This Project will reclaim the uninterrupted access to the sea for its residents once again and will by-pass the road network.
As technology advances clever solutions can surpass what has gone before, with sympathetic design. This Project has certainly covered the angles.
QUALITY CONTROL IN ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
Projects for towns and cities that cleverly integrate environmental needs and are community aware should always be heralded ingenious. This park will be one such Project. The layout is as follows:
MAIN ENTRANCES – will be via the busiest shopping streets, Avenida Louis Braille, Calle Carlota Navarrete and Calle Lopez de Mena.
MAIN WALKWAY – will be located in the centre of the park and you will be able to access it from different levels.
The highest level will be on the Marques Douro roundabout, where it unites both the east and west sides for pedestrians.
NORTH ZONE – will be dedicated to the games area, the sporting zone, with a bicycle lane and water features.
SOUTH ZONE – will be more landscaped with plants, this is where they propose the best location for a Tourist Office.
WEST ZONE – “Plaza de Arte” – “Art Square”, will be for possible exhibitions or cultural events. There is a proposal for a gourmet market and also the access to the Retirement home, where there will be exercise machines.
EAST ZONE – “Plaza de las sensaciones” – “Square of sensations”, will connect the green zones to the beach. The beach promenade spans 2km, lush plants on one side and the beautiful Mediterranean Sea on the other. A pleasant stroll on the tiled promenade as you head of to the local chringuitos for lunch.
Unique features created thoroughout the park will all independent of one another.
- A total area covering: 55,000 square metres
- 11,000 metres of green areas
- Two playgrounds
- Skate park
- Three bar-terraces
- An open air auditórium
- Water features
The open-air Auditorium will be run by the Town Hall and be below the the walkways, so as not to impact on the environment.
The Mayor Angeles Muñoz commented and basically this Project was the best fit for the criteria they were looking for. The overall standard of projects submitted were of great quality, in particular eleven of them. There were very innovative designs and some a little risky.
This project has been long awaited by local residents in restoring their hopes and dreams of connecting the towns urban area, historic town centre and sea. Their wishes have been answered via parkland, beautifully landscaped and innovatively designed spaces that will cater for cultural and sporting events.
This is a project defined as “full of vitality”.
Parkings in San Pedro.
Always seen as an issue in densely populated areas (26.500 residents in San Pedro) and as the park will attract a lot of visitors the project has envisaged:
- 280 car spaces
- 60 motor cycle spaces
- 100 bicycle spaces
- 9 bus spaces
If there ever was a place to visit then San Pedro de Alcántara is it, creating this union just adds to the facilities they had to offer previously. This town has Golf, Tennis, Paddle and the Municipal Sports Centre has facitlites for a huge number of sports, gym and dance.
If shopping is more your thing you can peruse the local artesanian products at the local market every Thursday morning.
A couple of kilometres away is the infamous Puerto Bánus and Marbella so if you want to experience the glitz, glam and party atmopshere you’d head that way. San Pedro Alcántara is more casual, it’s certainly more quaint and laid back.
If you are a tourist or local you are in for a treat with the towns lates addition and from an economical point of view, jobs have been created and will continue to be created as the Town Hall has put to tender proposals for cafes, a gourmet food market and ice-rink.
The remodelling and regeneration of a town is a great example of a prosperous future. The Costa del Sol warmly awaits you. Gone is the uncertainty of committing to own buying your own home or holiday home in San Pedro. Why not consider San Pedro as a location for your new home? This little town is growing up fast and already you can feel the excitement and energy build. You can’t help but feel happy for local residents and business owners, we are looking forward to a successful future for them all.
Who wouldn’t want to stay in a place like this??