Santa Pola town hall are investigating the possibility of constructing a service road alongside the N-332, in order to safeguard bus passengers and avoid incidents such as the fatal collision this week which killed a 16-year old boy who was crossing the main road on his way to the local skate park.
The incident on Wednesday cost the life of Yassin, who was visiting the park with some friends from Almoradí. The friends had decided to take a safer route from the bus stop to the park, but Yassin decided to cross the road instead, resulting in the collision.
The government had budgeted funds in 2016 for improvements to the road, but that work has so far not started. Now, the town hall are taking the initiative to see if they can improve access and safety through the construction of a service road.
Sadly, this is not the only area of risk along the N-332 in the area. At La Zenia, buses used to be forced to stop on a roundabout to allow passengers to alight, a practice which was already stopped for safety concerns. Across the border from Orihuela heading into Torrevieja, the bus stop is on the main road, forcing buses to stop and block one of the two lanes, which in turn poses a risk to vehicles behind.
Pedestrians also take their lives in their own hands when they cross the N-332 in various places. A number of footbridges have been constructed along the route, but many pedestrians still risk their lives by attempting to cross the road, choosing not to use the bridges.
Bridges are considered something of a luxury, as in places there are no such facilities, such as in the Cala Mosca area or the Orihuela Costa, where pedestrians have no official means of crossing the road in a site where a footbridge was destined to be built many years ago, but political and legal battles still leave pedestrians at risk due to the absence of the bridge.
It is time that politics are swept aside and the lives of innocent people are put first, which is something that the tragic death of Yassim is achieving in Santa Pola. Locally, all political groups are in support of remedial action, offering their condolences to his family, and although it is too late to save one life, many more can be protected if action is taken to solve these many risks along the N-332.
