Councilor for Citizen Participation, Pepe Doménech, and the Councilor for Education and Social Welfare, Melani Ivars, have sympathized at a press conference this morning to present the modifications made to the Participatory Budgets linked to children, adolescents and the elderly.
The Participatory Budgets, a tool for citizen proposals and decision-making, are celebrating their seventh edition this year with a budget item of 400.000 euros, which represents a "clear commitment to participation", in the words of Doménech.
At the same time, the next participatory budgets "will reinforce two distinctions related to policies to make the city friendlier", according to the mayor, referring to Unicef's recognition of Dénia as a Child-Friendly City and the city's adhesion to the World Wide Web. Age-Friendly Cities of the World Health Organization (WHO). With this objective, 100.000 euros of the Participatory Budget will be allocated to joint projects linked to both age groups.
Doménech has commented that an intergenerational work commission will be established to select the projects that must go to a citizen vote, which is estimated to be held next December. This same project was presented yesterday in the Neighborhood Council –coordinator of the participatory budgets- and the CLIA, and today in the Mayor's Council, organizations that will send representatives to the aforementioned work commission; all the participating people were asked for their collaboration to increase the integration of citizens in the municipal participatory processes included in these age groups.
Traffic calming project in Plaza Jaume I
Yesterday the last CLIA meeting of this legislature was held, in which the boys and girls took stock of the proposed initiatives, those that have been executed and those that have not yet. The Councilor for Territory and Urban Quality, Maria Josep Ripoll, took advantage of the occasion to present to the council participants the traffic calming project in Plaza Jaume I.
In this morning's press conference, it was the mayor Melani Ivars who exposed the characteristics of the project; which is estimated to have a cost of around 500.000 euros and seeks to expand green areas, always keeping in mind the 'Caminis' project for safe roads for transit, which may lead to the expansion of sidewalks to improve access to three nearby educational centers, as the councilor has pointed out. Ivars has commented that the game furniture in the area has already been renewed and the grass fence has been removed to make it accessible for the game. The councilor points out that the drafting and execution of the project is expected to be developed this year in collaboration with CLIA, which, according to Ivars, has "received very well" the project for the Jaume I garden space.
He also wanted to comment on the initiatives linked to promoting family reconciliation of families that have been carried out since his council, such as the Cervantes toy library project with the inclusion of revitalization for adolescents, boys and girls; assume the service of 'Escoles matineres' in municipal schools; expand the workshops and socio-educational activities in the free time of young people and organize activities during the vacation period.
Status of Participatory Budgeting projects
In the same press conference, the mayor of Citizen Participation has reported on the state of the Participatory Budgets since 2017. Regarding that first edition, he points out that all the initiatives have already been carried out, including the creation of a bio-healthy area in the Baix la Mar-Darrere del Castell area (23.000 euros) and in La Faroleta-Diana (23.000 euros) and the installation of a street workout and calisthenics park in the Las Marinas neighborhood (20.000 euros), among others. The proposals of the second edition, that of 2018/2019, have also already been executed; among them we find the conditioning of the parking lot of the bus station (30.000 euros), the incorporation of new light points in Alicante avenue (59.500 euros), the installation of shaded areas in the municipal cemetery (40.000 euros) and the construction of a climbing wall (30.000 euros), among others.
In the 2019/2020 edition, all the initiatives proposed by the citizens were also carried out, such as the asphalting of Hort, Escullera, Alberto Sentí and the Carretera de las Marinas, renovation of the storm drains on Calle Calpe in the Faroleta-Diana area, widening of the sidewalks of the first kilometer of the Carretera de Marines or the improvement in the park on Ginjoler street in the Montgó area.
With regard to the fourth edition, that of the 2020/2021 financial year, the installation of 14 light points in the Montgó neighborhood was developed; on the other hand, comments Doménech, the works to bury containers in the old town have started and the project to renew the paving of the Paseo de la Marineta Cassiana It is pending to be carried out in 2023. The budget of the third edition went from the 200.000 euros of the previous ones to 250.000.
The fifth edition (2021/2022) had a budget of 350.000 euros. Currently, the creation of a slide park in the Chabàs park has begun and, as indicated by the mayor, the works on the pump track park and the adaptation of the urban circuit for runners and walkers are scheduled to begin next month .
The current edition has a budget of 400.000 euros, which must be allocated to the most voted projects, such as the installation of open sports courts, the provision of itineraries for pedestrians on the slopes of Montgó or the installation of public fountains, for example.
At the same time, the councilor wanted to highlight those initiatives that have been developed despite not having won the votes, such as the installation of banks on Miguel Hernández avenue, the paving of Carlos Sentí, planting trees on Camino de Sant Joan, signaling and setting up a lane for pedestrians on Carrer Rap, improvements in Parque de las Marinas, planting shrubs on Avenida Joan Chabàs, installing litter bins in the París Pedrera area -Camp Roig or the completion of the sidewalk section of the Camino del Llavador.
Along these same lines, Doménech assures, it is planned that this year the project of the early childhood park (from 0 to 3 years) will be developed in the Chabàs park, the agility playground in the two parks for dogs in Dénia (Torrecremada and La Pedrera), the construction of two canopies in Las Marinas (Deveses and les Fonts) and the improvement of the sidewalks of Assagador de la Marjal street.
!!Mare Meua!! If more people read this, they would know that some of the points taken for granted here are not true (patches and more patches, and no lights).. !!Abandoned from Las Marinas!!