Caravaca prepares to pedestrianise streets in its historic old town
People who still need to access the town centre by car after the pedestrianisation project will need to register their vehicle in a specially created office
This coming April, the Town Council of Caravaca de la Cruz will implement a newly presented system for traffic management and partial pedestrianisation of the historic town centre.
To this end, the local Governing Board has awarded a works contract worth 97,590 euros, which includes the installation of retractable bollards with number plate readers and information screens at the entrances.
This is being financed through the Tourism Sustainability Plan in Destination ‘Camino a Caravaca 2024’, using EU funds.
To manage the preliminary procedures, the Council has set up the Municipal Office of Urban Mobility until March 8, where residents and workers can register their vehicle number plates so they can access the town centre at the appointed times, and also ot be able to make any enquiries about the project.
Caravaca town mayor, José Francisco García, explained, “A flexible system will be implemented in terms of timetables and with access for residents, regularising and ordering a situation which until now has been occurring without the appropriate means, by placing fences, with the inconvenience that this entails.”
He went on to emphasise, “The objectives are to guarantee road safety, promote social, commercial and hotel and catering activity and improve protection of the historical heritage in the areas surrounding the Castle and the Plaza del Arco.”
The pedestrianisation of Caravaca old town was an issue that has been pending in the town for a while, but which now is being addressed through the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. This plan has been developed through a process of citizen participation under the direction of experts from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena and approved in the Plenary of the Municipal Corporation.
The scope of the project for the partial pedestrianisation of the historic quarter covers the area around the Plaza del Arco and the Castle. Specifically, it affects the streets of the medieval quarter, including Puentecilla, Gregorio Javier up to the junction with Mayrena, Colegio, Pocico, Plaza Nueva, Las Monjas, Teatro, Domingo Moreno and the Plaza del Arco.
Residents in these areas should register their vehicle number plates at the office. Anyone over 70 years of age who live alone or dependent people will have the option of accrediting two vehicles so that their family members and/or carers can circulate in the area. Similarly, access will be allowed to workers who can justify their position in an establishment or company in the area of action by means of a contract. Exceptional cases will be dealt with by an advisory committee.
The project consists of the installation of retractable bollards in Calle Puentecilla, Calle Colegio and Gran Vía with Calle Canalica. They also plan to install four digital information panels to provide people with up-to-date, real-time information on traffic conditions.
The Urban Mobility Plan of Caravaca is also focused on creating better accessibility in the town, improving public transport, adding more cycle lanes and building new parking areas.
Anyone interested in learning more about the plan or who needs to register their number plate can do so at the Municipal Mobility Office, which opens this week in the municipal offices located in the Plaza del Arco, next to the Tourist Information Point.
The opening hours will be on Mondays and Thursdays from 5.30pm to 8.30pm and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.30am to 11.30am.
You can also contact them by e-mail at movilidadurbana@caravacadelacruz.es or by telephone on 0034 678 054 024.
For more local news, events and visiting information go to the home page of Caravaca Today
Image: Ayuntamiento de Caravaca de la Cruz
Address
Calle De Las Monjas, 17 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZTel: 968 702 424 / 968 701 003
Oficina de Turismo de Caravaca de la Cruz
More information about the places of interest which can be visited in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, along with what's on and local news can be found in the dedicated Caravaca de la Cruz section.
Caravaca de la Cruz, in the North-west of the Region of Murcia, is one of only 5 Holy Cities in the World, a centre of Pilgrimage, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liebana, home to the Cross of Caravaca, the Vera Cruz.
The status of Holy City was bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, granting the City a Permanent Jubilee year every 7 years for perpetuity, the first one held in 2003, the next one in 2017.
The strategic and natural advantages of Caravaca de la Cruz have attracted the attention of settlers for more than 800,000 years, the Cueva Negra yielding remains of Homo Heidelbergensis, forbears of the Neanderthals and the municipality also houses important archaeological remains from the Argaric, Iberian and Roman cultures. many of these can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum.
As a border town caught between the Catholic forces of Castille and the last remaining Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, Caravaca had a 
turbulent Mediaeval history, but it was during this period that the legend of the Cross of Caravaca was born, bringing the religious orders which shaped the structure of Caravaca today, with it's impressive hilltop castle and eclectic collection of churches and monasteries, religious tourism today being a backbone of the town´s economy.
Caravaca de la Cruz is a municipality with important natural resources, including extensive forests, part of which have protected status due to their wealth of flora and fauna, and due to the abundant water supplies is also a major area for canned fruit production, apricots in particular, being an important crop.
Caravaca is renown for it´s important May Fiestas, held in honour of the Vera Cruz, which also incorporate the Moors and Christians celebrations and the Running of the Wine Horses.
Caravaca de la Cruz is also the home of Europe´s largest collection of ethnic instruments at Barranda, the Museo de Música Étnica Barranda and is the location of the Barranda festival de Cuadrillas, which celebrates the Region's ethnic music traditions.
The municipality is home to around 26,000 inhabitants and borders with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Granada and Almería.
Opening times:
1st October to 31st May
Monday to Friday, 10am to 2.30pm and 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Saturday, 10.30am to 2pm and 4pm to 7pm.
Sunday and bank holiday, 10.30am to 2pm
1st June to 30th September.
Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm and 5pm to 8pm.
Saturday, 10.30am to 2pm and 5pm to 8pm.
Sunday and bank holiday, 10.30am to 2pm.
Click for map, Caravaca de la Cruz Tourist Office
