The residents of Xaló have decided to support a redesign of the centre of the village, during which, priority will be given to pedestrians instead of vehicles, creating a green, pedestrianised circular route in the main square and the streets surrounding the church of Santa Maria. This is the first major conclusion of the ‘Xaló Participa 2020’ citizen participation process. The second, with regards to the dependency situation of older people, is that home help is the most necessary service in the opinion of those who care for people with dependencies.
More than 400 people participated in the consultation via two channels: the online forms available on the municipal website and the letters sent to all those registered in the municipality. “The high participation rate is a sign that local residents have wanted to get involved in two issues which are very important for the future of Xaló”, said the mayor, Joan Miquel Garcés.
Regarding the survey on the redesign of the village centre, the conclusions drawn from the results are as follows:
- More than 7 out of 10 Xaló residents prefer the Plaça Major to be for pedestrians without vehicle traffic. Of the features that the new square should have, most opted for a new fountain.
- The option to keep Carrer de la Verge in its current condition is the most voted with 43%, although the sum of the votes to make it one way reaches 55%.
- As for the Carrers Major, Alacant and San Judas, the preference is for pedestrians with car access for local residents. However, the option of keeping them as they are now but improving the pavements also has a lot of support.
- And a large majority want the small square on Carrer Alacant to be for pedestrians, landscaped and connected with the Plaça Major.
- Examples of village centres the participants referred to are Lliber, Xàbia, Moraira, Benissa and Gandia…
As residents of Xaló have been able to contribute to the ideas of how to redesign this area, the town council will develop one or more proposals that will be shown to the public. These will be based on residents’ proposals and the fulfillment of the technical requirements of the project (accessibility and compatibility with basic uses),
After the consultation was completed on June 9th, the town councillors Lore Blasco and Gerard Fullana started a round of meetings with the shops and residents of the affected streets in order to exchange opinions and add new proposals that will also have an impact on the final result. Regarding the matter, the councillor of Commerce, Lore Blasco, wanted to remind people that “the survey is not binding but it does let us see what kind of village the people of Xaló want”.
Needs of older people
- In the survey on the dependency situation of the elderly in Xaló, the main conclusions are as follows:
- Most people with a dependency in Xaló are dependent because of their age.
- Almost 100 percent of caregivers say they need help to care for them.
- They spend more than three hours taking care of them and the activity that most occupies them is personal hygiene.
- Home help is the service that caregivers need most.
Regarding the matter, the councillor of Social Services, Lara Avellà, has explained that ” this data is fundamental in knowing first-hand the needs of people with dependencies in Xaló; from now on we will be able to better plan the services that we must make available to them”.
If you want to see all the results of the surveys, you can do it here.
