Police reshuffle to tackle crowds
PILAR de la Horadada town hall is reorganising local police patrols at the beaches to prevent the overcrowding that occurred at the weekend, local environment councillor Pedro Miguel Moya told Costa Blanca News.
“Some officers are being moved from quiet beaches to the busiest ones to guarantee that social distancing and the capacity limits are observed,” he said.
On Saturday afternoon, access to Higuericas, Jesuitas and Conde beaches had to be closed for around an hour due to overcrowding, and the same happened on Sunday afternoon at Jesuitas beach.
Sr Moya said the worst time were from noon until 14.00.
“At 14.00 many beachgoers go back to their apartments to have lunch and those queuing are allowed to access the beach,” he said. “The problems with capacity are only occurring at the weekends.”
He advised beachgoers to go earlier to the beach as the lifeguard service is running from 10.00 to 20.00 and, if possible, visit other beaches in the town.
He admitted that many people spending their holidays on the Mar Menor are driving to Pilar due to the poor environmental situation of the Mar Menor.
Sr Moya said the beaches cannot be divided into plots due to their shape and he urged beachgoers to use common sense and keep social distancing. He revealed that bars are opening this week on all beaches except Conde and Jesuitas due to the lack of space.
The councillor stressed that the surface area of the beach bars is limited to 20 square metres and the terrace cannot occupy more than 50 square metres.
He reminded that smoking and playing with balls on the beaches is banned, social distancing must be kept and different groups must keep a four-metre distance on the beach.
However, no additional local police will be posted to tackle illegal street vendors, although beachgoers have complained that there are too many and they approach them with no face masks and ignore social distancing.