Lorraine Williamson
Benidorm’s “tourist road” has a daily identity crisis. In winter, it’s a handy link between neighbourhoods and nearby l’Alfàs del Pi. In summer, it can feel like a rolling queue of hire cars, bikes, campers and pedestrians all fighting for the same few junctions.
Now the town hall has approved a package of works designed to make that stretch calmer, clearer and safer, with a project budget of €411,448.51 plus VAT — around half a million euros all-in once tax is included.
Why this road is suddenly a bigger priority
The key detail is governance, not just traffic. The avenue — officially the CV-7532 — became fully municipal in July 2022, when the provincial authority transferred a 1.6km section to the town, effectively turning it into an urban road. That shift matters because it gives the council more responsibility for what happens there, from lane layout to cycling safety.
Benidorm’s mayor, Toni Pérez, has said smaller fixes were made after the transfer, but a deeper redesign was still pending.
The pinch point: Camping Villamar
The headline change is a new roundabout at the access to Camping Villamar, an area where vehicles turning in and out compete with through-traffic and seasonal pedestrian movement. Consequently, the council’s argument is simple: a roundabout turns an unpredictable conflict zone into a junction with clearer priority and lower speeds.
A cycle lane upgrade that’s about crossings, not paint
The second major element targets the cycle lane, but not in the superficial “fresh markings” sense. The plan is to adapt the existing cycling infrastructure to the Ministry of Transport’s recommendations for cycle infrastructure design, and to tackle the messy interaction points where the cycle lane crosses entrances and side roads.
In practice, that means more legible crossings, clearer priority, and less of the “who goes first?” hesitation that causes near-misses.
Calmer driving by design
There’s also a deliberate traffic-calming approach: where space allows, the project proposes reducing lane width and creating a safety buffer zone, a common tactic to discourage speeding on roads that still feel like inter-urban corridors. New horizontal signage is planned to make the whole set-up easier to read for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
The council points out this isn’t an empty stretch of road. The area includes an educational centre, campsites, tertiary/commercial zones, housing and event venues — all feeding into a constant urban flow.
Who’s paying for it
The works are backed by Next Generation EU funding, framed within the Valencian Community’s tourism sustainability plan and a programme line aimed at cleaner, more sustainable mobility.
What residents and visitors should expect
For residents, the promise is fewer stop-start frustrations and fewer conflict points at the busiest accesses. For visitors, especially those staying in campsites or exploring by bike, the change should be more practical than cosmetic: a road that feels easier to navigate, with fewer surprises.
Benidorm says the design work has also taken into account requests raised by local neighbourhood associations in the area.