Monday, September 18, 2006
Tenerife almost as many vehicles as inhabitants
The Tenerife Island Corporation released information on Friday saying the number of vehicles registered on the island is now close to the number of inhabitants and classified the number as "extremely elevated". The president of the island corporation, Ricardo Melchior, said that there are municipalities where there are more cars than residents.
The Tenerife institution pointed out that the elevated number of vehicles is the cause of the frequent traffic jams, especially in the metropolitan area. According to the Cabildo, the situation causes an infinity of delays getting to work, loss of time and waste of fuel and an enormous amount of stress.
The Corporation indicated that, despite making great efforts in the construction or extension of infrastructures to increase the flow of traffic; the current increase in the size of the vehicle population, the size of the island territory, it's geography, ecology and fragility, prevent them from reaching this objective.
"Taking into account that we cannot continue increasing highways, if the number of vehicles continues, we will be at a standstill.", said Melchior. "The more we can decrease the use of private cars, the more benefits we will have", he added.
The corporation considers it essential to manage demand and rationalize the use of private cars, "harnessing and adopting alternative solutions to cover urban journeys."
Tenerife tiene casi tantos vehículos como habitantes
