The Cambrils City Council has formalized the works contract with Romà Infraestructures i Serveis and Garcia Riera to comprehensively remodel Orquídies street, in La Llosa, a road of about one kilometer that connects the municipal center with the Ponent area.
The works will start in June, within two to three weeks, and will last nine months without interruption during the summer, in an action requested by the neighborhood since 2010. The improvement comes after years of waiting, but the widening of the sidewalks will also imply the disappearance of numerous parking spaces in an area with high vehicle pressure.
The works will begin in June and will last nine months
Orquídies street currently has deteriorated asphalt, inaccessible sidewalks, sections without pedestrian crossings, and problems with overhead wiring. The project plans to renew pavements and lighting, bury services, and build two-meter-wide sidewalks on each side.
The execution will advance in sections to maintain mobility in one of the accesses between Cambrils and Ponent. The plan includes alternative routes while the works last.
In a first phase, the workers will address the new water, telecommunications, electricity, and sewage pipelines. This part of the action has an estimated duration of between three and five months.
From the sixth or seventh month, works on sidewalks and roadways will begin. The intervention will conclude with the installation of landscaping, urban furniture, and signage.
Residents are asking for parking because the renovation will eliminate spaces on the street
The design foresees asymmetrical sidewalks to take advantage of the wider spaces for planting trees. This widening will directly reduce the space available for parking on Orquídies street itself.
Montse Barnet, president of the Residents' Association, points to this as one of the neighborhood's main concerns.
"Most houses do not have parking and in this area there are many cars, even more so in the summer months. New parking areas will be needed" - Montse Barnet, president of the Residents' Association
The neighborhood entity is asking the council to design a park-and-ride facility to compensate for the loss of spaces. The request is added to a demand that has been ongoing for 14 years, after the first phase of street remodeling in La Llosa and the Ponent urbanizations.
Barnet also summarized the wear and tear accumulated during this process and the current state of the road, stating that the street is in very bad condition and looks like a roller coaster.