San Sebastian City Council will limit events in the Old Town and downtown area to curb saturation

The City Councilof Donostia-San Sebastián will limit the activities of the Old Townand the city centre in order to curb the "saturation" that reduces the quality of life of the population, while encouraging the decentralization of activities.

The mayor of San Sebastian, Jon Insausti, explained at a press conference that it is a question of "prioritizing neighbors" and "intervening on elements that cause unrest or concern among neighbors," although he has specified that some of the events are "immovable" because of their strong roots and are part of the identity of those neighborhoods.

"Having listened to the neighbours of the Old Town and the Centre, we have produced a report on the extraordinary activity in the area and, in view of the results, we will take steps to alleviate the inconvenience caused by such repetitive events," he said.

The Government team's approach is aimed primarily at "what is coming", but the activities and events already carried out will be analysed "one by one" to see if "changes" can be made.

He gave the example of Business Racing, which used to cross the Old Town, but not last time. 

Insausti recalls that some of the activities are organized by the City Council itself and points out that various municipal departments involved, such as Mobility, Municipal Police, Dbus, Civil Protection, Maintenance and Public Roads, Donostia Kultura and Donostia Kirola, will have to follow guidelines.

Firstly, they must maintain "an open and sincere dialogue between the municipal departments and the organizing institutions toidentify and implement alternatives to the locationof events, with priority given to neighbourhoods other than the Old Town and the Centre, in order to reduce impacts in these areas and contribute to the balanced distribution of activities in the city".

The itineraries should avoid crossing the interior of the Old Town, and take "nerve points" such as race departures and arrivals to other areas, such as the sports city of Anoeta, Sagüés and the university area.

The modification of the initial schedules will also be another of the guidelines to be followed , according to the criteria of different municipal departments, especially Mobility, Dbus and Citizen Security, as well as measures to minimize the acoustic impact by avoiding and/or controlling the installation of sound or megaphone equipment as it passes through inhabited areas, for example.