Jávea's jewel bay: crowded, dirty and dangerous
Calls for rethink to protect Granadella beauty spot
PEOPLE living near the picturesque cove of Granadella in Jávea have again called on the town hall to act to protect residents, visitors and the beauty spot itself.
The cove is a year-round magnet for visitors but the high season brings an overload of tourists and the council restricts access in a bid to safeguard the environment.
However, residents are urging the local authority to rethink current strategy. They say a petition and site meetings failed to change plans this summer.
Currently 250 cars are allowed to park a Granadella in places at the beach itself or on Carrer del Pic Tort, a snaking one-way road leading up to the cliffs and the 38 homes of a small community.
A manned barrier at the top of Carretera de la Granadella controls access once the day’s quota is filled - a car is allowed down as one leaves, via Pic Tort. There is also a free shuttle service.
The exit is supposed to be one-way - drivers frequently turn around and drive down the 'dangerous' road without a safety barrier and steep blind bends; this autumn the council plans to resurface the potholed road.
This week CBN was sent photographs of the queues at the barrier; described as a 'horrendous traffic problem.'
Accident
A resident said: “There are queues at the barrier sometimes of more than 20 cars, which make it difficult to get to the homes in Pic Tort. The security man explains the situation individually and, one by one, cars turn round and leave...there are accidents waiting to happen.”
Meanwhile, critics say rubbish left at the cove and along Carrer del Pic Tort is a growing problem.
“The rubbish being deposited down at the cove is terrible; rubbish is just left in the road, including bottles, nappies and unused food.”
And homeowners living at Pic Tort believe the current plan is difficult - the one-way Granadella exit becomes twoway streets at the summit and there are seven blind corners from the summit back to the main road through a residential area.
“We are trying our utmost to get the town hall of Jávea to realise how dangerous the unmade road with its gigantic potholes and without a crash barrier really is - another accident waiting to happen,” said the resident, who said locals’ cars and workmen’s vans also parked in residential streets not designed for heavy traffic.
“Why do they have to leave Granadella via Pic Tort (rather than the main road)? And there are a lumber of pieces of land that could be converted to a safe parking area.”