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Julio J. Portabales
Malaga
Monday, 21 October 2024, 18:31
Residents in Cártama in Malaga province's Guadalhorce valley are voicing their concerns over the road noise generated by traffic on the A-357 motorway, with some claiming they cannot sleep at night.
Alicia Luque Beloqui is one of many residents in the El Limonar neighbourhood in Cártama, who along with 150 other families suffers from the constant noise of the busy motorway. This road, which runs through the residential area, generates a level of noise pollution which the neighbours describe as "unbearable". As traffic has increased over the years, the noise has become a constant source of stress and discomfort, they pointed out.
Residents have complained about noise problems since 2006. However, at that time, the Junta de Andalucía considered the decibel levels recorded did not exceed the permitted limits. It was not until 2017, when Cártama town hall carried out an acoustic study, that the need for urgent measures became apparent. The study, paid for by the council, showed noise pollution had reached high levels, making it necessary to implement noise barriers.
However, the installation of these barriers, initially planned for the first half of 2024, has not progressed as expected. "When June arrived and there was no movement, we wrote a letter. We were told that the barriers would be installed in an area of Malaga city, which is a higher priority because it has a higher decibel level," Alicia Luque said.
This led to an uproar with residents protesting the decision and Cártama mayor Jorge Gallardo joining in. "From around 40,000 vehicles, we have gone from having more than 75,000 a day, which has obviously increased the noise as well," he said.
Just a week ago, the residents, together with the mayor, held a meeting with Rosa Morales from the Junta de Andalucía. According to Junta sources, a short-term resolution of planting trees to mitigate the noise is being studied. Meanwhile, a medium-term solution of including this section in a special asphalt plan, which could absorb the sound, is being considered, as well as another noise level study.
However, the proposals have not convinced the residents, who said they feel "ignored" by the Junta. Alicia Luque said the idea of planting trees is not a sufficient solution: "The green screens of trees are not a solution, they take time to grow and hardly reduce noise". The residents said they are also concerned that if the next noise study does not exceed a certain decibel level, the installation of the noise barriers will again be discarded.
The council and residents criticised the Junta's lack of flexibility. "We have said, 'hey, if there is already a line of noise barriers, why not extend it a metre on both sides?' And they say no, that it's too expensive," said Gallardo, calling on the Junta to reconsider its position.
"Noise causes nervousness, anxiety, bad sleep... it affects everything," said Alicia Luque. "We continue to fight and we are going to do it until the end," she added.
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