This year San Pedro has undergone some major modernisation with the works mainly focused on the main street, Calle Marques del Duero and the centre of town. So far the comments and opinion of the residents are split into two groups, the ones that are happy with the changes and the others that think that San Pedro lost its touch of ‘Spanish local town’ and has turned into a concrete jungle with a lack of green zones and not enough parking spaces.
To find out the true opinion of its residents, San Pedro businessman Abel Rivero, has carried out a survey regarding the main commercial streets of San Pedro, Calle Lagasca, Marques del Duero and Pizarro by knocking on the doors of 74 local businesses to find out what they think of the pedestrianisation of Avenida Marques del Duero and the possibility of a future shopping centre being built next to Guadaiza.
He asked four simple questions and the results were clear – San Pedro shop owners are not happy with the numerous works carried out in the centre, nor with the pedestrinisation, and definitely showed a total rejection to a large shopping mall being built on the edge of town.
The questions that were included in the survey were basic and pretty simple. Below you can see the questions and the results:
- Since the pedestrianisation of Avenida Marques de Duero, have you billed less? Would you tell me a percentage?
- YES: 89% The average result showed a percentage decrease in turnover of 23%.
- NO: 11%
- Do you believe that San Pedro has the right infrastructure to be able to prosper? (Infrastructure refers specifically to trade issues, such as parking, road signage, traffic etc.)
- YES: 1%
- NO: 99%
- Do you think that the pedestrianisation of San Pedro centre is sufficiently attractive for visitors/customers?
- YES: 22%
- NO: 78%
- Are you a supporter of the implementation of a large commercial area at the entrance of San Pedro?
- YES: 6%
- NO: 94%
Most of the respondents also commented that they see a lack of planning, no information and a lot of improvisation. Abel also noted that merchants were surprised and pleasantly shocked that someone actually showed an interest in their opinion and wishes, as it is the local businesses that keep San Pedro’s commercial life going and attract local residents, visitors and tourists to the town.
We would like to hear your opinion about the work that has been done so far in San Pedro. Are you happy with the changes or would you like to propose some new ideas? No matter what, we know that San Pedro will continue to be our favourite little town and we are sure that it will continue to win a lot of hearts.