Merchants fear that by becoming one-way, traffic will be reduced and therefore their sales will decrease
Los comerciantes colgando carteles en protesta por la reforma de la calle Gumá
The reform of Gumá de Caspe street has generated rejection among the merchants in the area. The works will widen the sidewalks and turn this road, until now a two-way street, into a one-way street towards the center. But businesses fear that the reduction in traffic and parking spaces will drive away customers and visitors, with a direct impact on their sales.
Gemma Tomás, manager of Ferrovicmar, shared that this road has a great deal of commercial activity. With this reform, he predicts that traffic will move away towards the Joaquín Costa road, which will mean that «the center will be left without visibility and accessibility» since the rest of the adjoining streets are «narrow and with poor circulation».
In addition, the merchant denounces that the action will reduce parking spaces by half. The works have already begun, although the businesses in the area were informed just two days before. In the case of Gemma, her section of street is not yet raised, but her customers are already forced to access the center through narrow and unintuitive roads, «which only the people of the town know how to travel.»
Merchants have already begun to notice a drop in sales, despite the fact that there are still three months of work to go. The intervention also coincides with July and August, months of great tourist influx in which many visitors have stopped passing through one of the main shopping streets of the municipality. Gemma fears that activity will not recover even when the renovation is completed.
The merchant Gemma Tomás, presenting the 90 signatures at the Caspe City Council
As a sign of protest, they collected 90 signatures from companies and businesses that they presented to the Caspe City Council, and now customers, neighbors and tourists are joining. Also last Friday they hung some posters demanding that Gumá Street preserve the two-way traffic.
This coming Wednesday the neighbors will hold a meeting with the consistory to explain the project in which, according to Gemma, «there are sidewalks 5 meters wide, which are not necessary, and there will be a narrow lane in one direction.» They hope to convince them to modify it to leave the double direction. If not, they already have in mind to organize new actions as a demonstration.
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