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Spain has no excuses for frontier queues
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The Progressive Democratic Party note the recent increase of extensive frontier queues. It is unacceptable that these should be there in the first place.
It is well-known that Spain turns queues off and on almost as easily as a tap of water on the back of an administrative whim. It is easy to find excuses such as volume of traffic or manning levels.
But the reality is that citizens suffer and that Spain can, if it really wished to, resolve the situation in a more decisive and permanent way.
The PDP adds: For example Gibraltar has two green channels into Gibraltar and one red channel. Spain, very often operate only one green channel and that inevitably slows traffic down.
On the Spanish side there is a red channel, a green channel for vehicles and a green channel for motorbike/cycle use only. This channel is often converted into a second red channel with cars veered off into it for random checks. This policy must be deliberate. It would be far better for traffic flows for Spanish officials wishing to conduct checks to divert any particular car to the red channel.
Alternatively it would be easy to slightly reposition the red channel (which occupies much unused space) to provide a second green channel for cars ? as on the Gibraltar side.
PROMISES
The PDP ays it welcomed the frontier flows aspect of the Cordoba Agreement but the regular reappearance of such queues only serves to highlight that the promises of a new climate are not enduring.
The Cordoba Agreement proclaimed that ?more fluid movement of people, vehicles and goods between Gibraltar and the surrounding area will improve the day to day lives of people in Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar.?
The Government should take the matter up with the relevant Spanish authorities given that the parties committed themselves ?to keep the situation under review and to study additional measures to further improve? traffic fluidity.
The measures suggested by the PDP should be considered in that light, they say.
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