Marbella limits opening hours for scooters on the seaside promenade during the summer

Marbella triples its population in the summer and, for this reason, the town hall has decided to regulate the coexistence of scooters or personal transport vehicles (VTPs in Spain), bicycles and pedestrians. "The aim is to ensure that traffic flows as smoothly as possible, giving priority to pedestrians, especially in the period between 1 July and 15 September due to the increase in population," said municipal spokesperson Félix Romero after the council cabinet meeting.

This measure will come into force next Tuesday. In order to inform the public about the measure and the rules for using scooters, leaflets will be distributed in different delegations and hotel establishments.

The local administration is not going to apply the limitations equally throughout the Paseo Marítimo. Instead, the seaside promenade has been divided into nine sections: 1) from Cabopino to the port of La Bajadilla; 2) between La Bajadilla and Calle Antonio Montero Sánchez; 3) crossing Avenida Duque de Ahumada, from Calle Rafaela Aparicio to Avenida Arias Maldonado; 4) from that stretch to Calle Rafael Cea; 5) all the way to Río Verde; 6) running along the Alberto Vidiella promenade as far as Avenida Naciones Unidas; 7) running along Avenida Julio Iglesias; 8) from Playa del Duque to the River Guadaiza; 9) crossing San Pedro Alcántara, from Río Guadaiza to Avenida del Mediterráneo.

The restriction that repeats the most concerns weekends, from 10am to 11pm. Director of mobility Baldomero León said that the new regulations aims to give priority to pedestrians, prevent accidents and allow peaceful walks.

Bus to Starlite

This year, the town hall is going to improve the free bus service from Marbella to Starlite festival, with a practically circular line that will increase from two to 15 stops. It will be in operation from 2 July to 24 August. Romero said that "line 10 had a pick-up point for passengers in the Alameda and another at the festival; now it will cover practically the entire municipality, so we believe that the 4,000 people who used it last year will multiply in this edition - not only residents who have the card and do not want to use their private vehicle, but any tourist". The spokesperson stated that "there will be 12 journeys a day, with an interval of 40 minutes between each one, from 8pm until 6am".

The extension of the bus service highlights how important the Starlite festival is to the town and its residents.