Criticizing without offering an alternative is part of the «constant chatter of the left»
The delegate for Urban Planning, Environment, and Mobility, Borja Carabante, has given the opposition until the end of the week to present specific proposals for modifying the closure protocol of Retiro Park and other unique parks in the city in the face of adverse weather conditions.
Carabante has urged them from the latest Tree Board meeting to convey these proposals because the Government team is «open to review, always under the conditions of technical services and guaranteeing safety conditions.»
The delegate has pointed out that the protocol was implemented by Manuela Carmena’s Government in 2019, which the PP has maintained, being open to updates but always with consensus among political groups.
At this point, he has focused on the left-wing parties, who «in recent days have criticized the application of this protocol and have said they have specific modification proposals,» but «have not presented them so far.»
«They are given a deadline until the end of the week, until Friday, to provide us with specific proposals for modifying that protocol,» he reiterated. They will not be evaluated by the Government team but by technical services, he made clear, because «they are the ones who have to establish under what conditions the protocol can be modified and access to Retiro Park.»
At the Tree Board meeting, the delegate has reported, based on protocol application data, that 70% of fallen branches and trees in Retiro Park occurred under orange and red alerts.
This has led him to emphasize that any modification of the protocol affects safety, which implies assuming «a great responsibility.» «It is not easy to lower safety conditions,» he confirmed.
«CONSTANT CHATTER OF THE LEFT»
Borja Carabante once again puts the ball in the opposition’s court by asserting that what surprises him the most is that they «have been criticizing the protocol for days but have no proposals.»
«When one criticizes a protocol, it is because they have analyzed it, studied it, and, above all, have an alternative, because if the alternative is none, it is an absolutely unacceptable lack of rigor or not compatible with the condition of councilor in this City Council,» he warned.
For Carabante, this is part of the «constant chatter of the left.» That’s why he has asked for «a little rigor» because what is being discussed is safety conditions that affect the safety of visitors. He believes that what underlies it all is that the opposition parties «do not want to take on the responsibility of modifying a protocol.»
On the other hand, the councilor believes that the City Council should make an effort to be more didactic because he understands that the public may not understand an «counterintuitive» act like not being able to be in a park under the shade of a tree when it gets hot.
In Retiro Park, the trees are «much older, more mature, therefore more fragile, and with the rise in temperature, they break and fall, and the data shows it, 70% of the fallen trees in Retiro Park have been under orange and red alerts.»
AROUND 300 INCIDENTS
The delegate detailed that around 300 incidents have been recorded in the last activations of the three alerts (yellow, orange, and red). Of these, 240 occurred during red and orange alerts, from overturned trees to large branches.
«I know the inconveniences, I am aware of them, and I share them even with them because I am also a user of Retiro Park, but they have to understand that we do this solely and exclusively to guarantee safety conditions, so that any family, any Madrilenian, any visitor who comes to Retiro Park does not have to go in fear but with full assurance that they can access without any risk,» he stated.
