Neighbors meet with the mayor and councilors to demand solutions
“They have shown interest and we hope it translates into results.” This is how Mari Carmen Tarín, the spokesperson for the Orriols en Lucha neighborhood platform, expressed herself this Thursday after the meeting she had with the mayor of València, María José Catalá, and with several councilors from the municipal government team. Together with them, he toured the conflictive points of the neighborhood and said that “they have finally admitted that the intercouncil board that was created in the last mandate is the appropriate instrument to coordinate the different improvement actions, which is an important step to continue working ”.
Four cameras to deter and control incidents
Catalá highlighted that the City Council, in just two weeks, has installed four cameras in critical points of the neighborhood with the objective of deterrence and incident control. They are located at the intersections of Calle del Padre Viñas and Santiago Rusiñol, in Duque de Mandas, San Juan de la Peña and Agustín Lara. Regarding this, Tarín commented that these are traffic cameras, but that at any given time in the event of any incident they can be reviewed by the security forces.
More surveillance and police presence on the streets
Furthermore, the mayor explained that in recent months surveillance and police presence on the streets have been intensified and that, since November, 1,500 police actions have been carried out. On this point, the neighborhood representative requested the presence of the Neighborhood Police to provide services on foot, to facilitate direct contact with the neighborhood, since until now the patrols usually go aboard different vehicles.
Orriols, a priority for the City Council
Catalá stated that Orriols continues to be a priority and that the City Council, since September, has been executing and programming investments worth 2.5 million euros to improve security, the environment and coexistence in the neighborhood.
Improved security, environment and lighting
According to the mayor, “the improvement of security, the redevelopment of the environment and the improvement of lighting are three actions that, together with the more intense police presence, will contribute to improving life in Orriols” and she added: “In addition, in In November we acquired the commitment that the Salvador Allende Social Center will provide exclusive attention to the residents of the neighborhood and today we announce that this year it will be a reality.”
Fight against illegal occupation
Regarding the illegal occupation, he stated that “the actions have been intensified and since September 2023, action has been taken in more than 60 buildings, proceeding to cut off the electricity supply of 68 fraudulent connections and 71 connections” and that Sareb has been urged to begin the procedures to evict an occupied building of their property located on Avenida de la Constitución.
Request for social housing
In this sense, the neighborhood leader asked the municipal officials to buy the building from Sareb to provide the homes for social rental and to do the same with the numerous empty homes in the neighborhood: “They have committed to studying it “The arrival of families and young people to the neighborhood would help revitalize it,” said Tarín.
Redevelopment works of the traditional core of Orriols
The mayor also highlighted that the redevelopment works around the traditional core of Orriols, delimited by Padre Viñas, Duque de Mandas, San Vicente de Paul and Reig Genovés streets, are being accelerated, with an investment of 2 million euros, which will be ready in June.
More pedestrianization, green spaces and urban quality
The objective of these works is to increase pedestrianization, the creation of green and quality public spaces, solve unevenness and architectural barriers and redistribute tree areas. More than 550,000 euros will be invested in the lighting in renovation and improvement in the coming years. Two lighting renovation and improvement projects are going to be put out to tender in Orriols. Likewise, he recalled that the City Council has launched a reinforced cleaning operation with a 30% increase in manual sweeping and washing frequency, and with an 88% increase in containers.
