Since the addition of the tunnel beneath the town to alleviate heavy traffic passing through in 2011, San Pedro has been continuously transforming. Next came the new boulevard, which has become a main meeting point for many locals as well as tourists, and now the town centre has been pedestrianised.
The roads running between the town centre and the boulevard have been pedestrianised following works that began in February 2018 and are now complete. The aim was to improve access and safety in the town centre with construction being completed in December of last year.
The main street running from Plaza de la Iglesia down to the boulevard, Avenida Marques del Duero, is now pedestrianised from the church square down to Calle del Pozo. The project includes new pavements, improved street furnishings and signage, as well as the refurbishment of the sanitation network, telecommunications infrastructure and natural gas network.
New lighting, irrigation and electricity infrastructure were also installed under the road as part of the main plan and now the pavements have been widened and surface parking has been eliminated, making the area more pedestrian-friendly.
The council’s decision to pedestrianise was a controversial one especially among shop and homeowners on the affected streets, so a vote in the form of a survey was held for San Pedro residents to have their say on the matter. In total 451 people completed the survey and 70 per cent said ‘yes’ to the project.
The work was paid for by the Provincial Council and cost €1,090,566 in total, with the work being awarded to the company Obras Generales del Norte, which carried out the transformation over ten months.
A further million euros of investment is planned for improvements to Calle Andalucía and Avenida de la Constitucion in 2019, and there are also plans in place for a new museum dedicated to the Spanish painter and sculptor Vicente de Espona.