The mayor of La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz), Juan Franco, has made an assessment of the first month since the demolition of the Barrier with Gibraltar, carried out on July 15, emphasizing that, once the initial "mismatches" in circulation were overcome and several administrative obstacles in the passage of goods were resolved, border transit is proceeding "more smoothly" and there is a growing presence of Gibraltarians consuming in the locality.
In statements to Europa Press, Franco detailed that the first two weeks after the dismantling of the Barrier were marked by a "traffic distortion" in the accesses, derived from the assembly of the fairgrounds next to the road where vehicles leaving the Rock turn, which affected mobility during those days.
However, he pointed out that since July 29, once the fair facilities were dismantled, circulation "is functioning more smoothly," as that added factor of congestion in the entry and exit area towards Gibraltar has disappeared.
The mayor also referred to the problems that arose with the initial application of the new documentary requirements for the passage of goods destined for Gibraltar, a "bureaucratic" hurdle that particularly affected freight forwarders during the first days. Nevertheless, he clarified that this issue "has already been cleared up and resolved" and that commercial traffic is normalizing.
Regarding the impact on the city of the elimination of the physical border, Juan Franco noted that they are experiencing a "fairly good" summer in terms of visitor influx, with hotel establishments "practically at 100% occupancy" and a tourist and economic activity that, in general terms, is evolving "fairly well."
With all that, he warned that August is "somewhat misleading" as it coincides with the vacation period and the arrival of "curious" people who travel to see in situ the new configuration of the passage to Gibraltar, which may distort the real perception of the economic impact in the medium term.
"I am sure that the effects in terms of direct repercussions will be clear from September," he asserted, convinced that it will be then when "the picture of reality" will be available once the work routine and ordinary commercial flow between La Línea and the Rock are recovered.
Facing that horizon, it has advanced that starting in September the City Council will begin to focus on "certain issues that are not well resolved," among them the already mentioned bureaucratic problems, about which it has indicated that "it seems to be on the way to solution," as well as the situation of national unemployed workers in Gibraltar, the pensions of cross-border employees, and the environmental monitoring of urban fill projects such as the Eastside project on the Rock.
Working group and improvement of access
In the same line, Franco has emphasized the need to set up a working group in which the governments of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Gibraltar participate, along with the City Council of La Línea, with the aim of jointly addressing the challenges related to mobility and infrastructure in the border environment.
Among the actions planned by the mayor is also a meeting with the Tax Agency, owner of the land through which the access road to Gibraltar runs, with the purpose of analyzing possible formulas to expand and optimize the road network that connects with the border crossing.
Despite the issues that are still pending, Franco has stressed that in this first month without the Fence everything has developed "well" and that "the alternative is infinitely worse," so he has defended continuing to advance gradually to consolidate "a certain normality" in relations and in daily transit with Gibraltar.