Malaga city plans solutions for 'Limonar motorway' prompted by residents' concerns

The proposals, drawn up in collaboration between the transport department and the Este district's management, form a package of measures which, according to municipal sources, are "more far-reaching than necessary" to ensure road safety for residents.

The key measure will be the installation of two traffic lights, one in each direction, which will force drivers to slow down. Sources explained that, while working on the project, they had encountered an unexpected stumbling block: the cable ducts required to install these traffic lights. Consequently, the first step will be to carry out the work for these electrical connections.

At the same time, there are also plans to build raised pedestrian crossings. The transport department and the Este district are now seeking the necessary funding to carry out all this work, although the initial plan is for the former to install the traffic lights, while the latter will be responsible for the zebra crossings.

The problem arises because cars exiting the Limonar junction from the Ronda Este are travelling at almost the same speed as before, only now they are on a city street. The fact that the road is a steep downhill slope doesn't help either. There are two large roundabouts along the way, which do slow traffic down somewhat, although accidents are a daily occurrence.

Avenida Camarón de la Isla is a recently built road linking the Colinas del Limonar area with Camino de los Almendrales and Calle Toquero and Calle Arrigo Boito. Ever since people began moving into the new housing developments three years ago, local residents have been calling on Malaga city council to introduce traffic measures, although nothing has been done so far.

As a proposed solution, the residents' association is calling for raised zebra crossings, similar to the ones in the Mayorazgo area. "They should at least do this at the crossing near the sports pitches, which is where all the children walk," parents recently told Sur. Another option they are proposing is the installation of a fixed speed camera.

"But they really must take some action urgently. After all, we've been waiting for three years now. Ever since we moved here, this was the first thing we asked for at meetings with the local council, because we could already see it was extremely dangerous," they said. "It's unacceptable that crossing a simple road should be such an ordeal. If there haven't been any accidents so far, it's only because God has spared us..."

"We've seen it all here: cars spinning round, delivery vans that have ploughed into several parked cars. What's worse: if you don't cross the road very carefully, they'll run you over and we're really scared for the children," a mother told Sur. What worries her most is the constant flow of traffic heading towards Los Almendrales, where loads of children go to play football.

"There's a sports club with teams of all ages and the zebra crossing is extremely dangerous because vehicles come speeding through. I know for a fact that at least three cars have already crashed into the roundabout at the junction of Arrigo Boito and Camarón de la Isla," José Luis, another parent, said. There have also been problems with garage exits, when someone tries to pull out and is met by cars speeding past.

To make matters worse, local residents say that, at weekends, it is common to see cars racing from roundabout to roundabout. "We're concerned about the situation because it's getting worse and worse and we fear that the council will only take action once a tragedy has occurred."

This campaign follows in the footsteps of the one residents of the nearby Calle La Minilla, in the Mayorazgo area, launched a few years ago. Until 2022, this was a quiet cul-de-sac, providing access only to the homes of a few residents.

That year, they found themselves with their front doors opening onto a two-way, sloping road with a sharp and dangerous bend and poor visibility. It is one of the main access routes to the Colinas del Limonar housing developments.

Retired municipal engineer Emilio Mena and other residents launched a campaign to call on the city council to introduce measures, which even led to the intervention of the Andalusian Ombudsman.

After two years of negotiations and administrative procedures to make the project a reality, the long-awaited work to install several raised features on the carriageway began in early 2025. The works involved building three raised pedestrian crossings to force cars and motorbikes to reduce their speed drastically, which was one of the main demands from local residents, just as is now the case in Camarón de la Isla.

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