Merchants say that the delay of the work of Ricardo Carapeto paralyzes new stores

NATALIA REIGADAS Badajoz

For 20 years, the residents of San Roque have had to walk through the mud and without lighting along a 300-meter stretch of its main avenue, which measures a total of 1.8 kilometers. The state of the first part of Ricardo Carapeto is a danger for pedestrians, but it also has economic consequences. The merchants of the neighborhood assure that the delay in this work is causing companies not to settle in the area.

“It is urgent, not only because of the danger, but because it harms us. It is one of the most important entrances of Badajoz and there are companies that want to be located”, laments Alberto González, president of the Association of Merchants and Entrepreneurs (ACE) of San Roque.

Specifically, the representative of the merchants in the area points out that a major company intends to occupy a commercial warehouse with a project that could attract a large public to the area, but is awaiting the works. And this is not the only pending business initiative in the area.

The undeveloped section has been gaining prominence in recent years. Several shops have been installed and more and more people are moving, but there are no sidewalks, no streetlights or zebra crossings.

The current situation of trade in San Roque is positive and they do not want to miss out on opportunities. The pandemic caused the closure of several stores, “but it is recovering well, at a faster rate than other areas of Badajoz. There are even investors who have contacted us to install important centers", reveals Caballero. “But we are always very aware of the final stretch, it is a very important issue for us,” he adds.

The president of the merchants denounces that it is a project approved for a long time, but that it is not executed. This week the Ministry of Transport has announced that it has approved the layout project for this work, which will cost 1.4 million, but several procedures remain to be completed.

Another pending account for entrepreneurs is the modernization of their open shopping center. The infrastructures that were set up on the avenue when it received this title are missing or very deteriorated. For example, explains Caballero, "there were some totems (posters with the company directory) that were in very poor condition and had to be removed." Instead, this businessman assures, there is a municipal commitment to install new columns, but with the latest technology. However, there is no date to do so.

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The new columns would include information screens and a modern directory of businesses. They would also serve to provide Wi-Fi to the avenue, they could change the lighting and include music. They would also support the security of the area because the merchants want them to have security cameras. “It is a very nice and very interesting project. We are waiting".

However, the representative of the businessmen asks that, before installing the columns, the avenue be repaired. The San Roque ACE has asked the City Council to carry out a comprehensive reform of Ricardo Carapeto. “You cannot take two steps without seeing a police fence, it is very abandoned, in poor condition,” laments Caballero.

They request that the sidewalks be changed completely and also the street furniture.

The merchants ask for this support to ensure that Ricardo Carapeto continues to be an avenue with hardly any empty stores, with an atmosphere and with a commercial pull. The president of the neighborhood merchants believes that the success of this open shopping center is due to the special character of the area. "That's what I always say at City Hall, San Roque is different."

The other two shopping centers that Badajoz has, Calle Menacho and Casco Antiguo, have suffered much more from the commercial crisis. In the first case, the dependency on franchises, some of which have closed and opt for shopping malls, has left many stores empty. In the case of the monumental area, the problem is even more serious and there are hardly any shops left.

Ricardo Carapeto, however, maintains the commercial tone. It has the advantage of being the most populous neighborhood in the city, with more than 14,000 residents, and many of its neighbors do their shopping in the area, without having to travel. They get it because they have a very varied trade, from supermarkets of the best known brands to clothing stores of people from the neighborhood.

«The place where I buy my son's 'babi' is the place where my mother always bought them. You have always known him,” explains María Jesús Gumiel, a resident of San Roque.

Rafael Fernández, another resident, is also proud of the atmosphere in his neighborhood. “We needed a fishmonger and they have opened one. And you can get good prices in the neighborhood too. We help each other here."