Lorraine Williamson
Every summer, the same question returns: how far can Marbella’s road network stretch before it buckles entirely? With the A-7 crawling at walking pace and the N-340 regularly paralysed, the city has long needed a mobility rethink. Now the local Socialist Party (PSOE) is pushing for a structural shift — a proposal built around multimodal corridors designed to break the annual cycle of jams and delays.
Marbella’s boulevard along the coastline and the parallel motorway once carried a manageable flow of traffic. Yet decades of development, combined with seasonal tourism surges, have pushed the system to its limits. Residents face daily bottlenecks simply moving between neighbourhoods, while visitors can spend long stretches stuck behind endless brake lights.
The PSOE argues that the problem is no longer about adding more asphalt, but about redistributing movement so that reliance on the A-7 and N-340 finally begins to ease.
On the road between Puerto Banús and San Pedro, a roadside billboard sums up the experience with a wink: ‘POV: You’re stuck in traffic, but still in paradise.’ It has become an unintended metaphor for Marbella’s mobility challenges — a reminder that even in one of Europe’s most idyllic settings, the queues feel endless.
Multimodal corridors: the backbone of the proposal
Instead of a single road-building project, the party’s plan centres on long “corridors” linking residential areas with the urban core. These would be designed as shared spaces for several modes of transport — buses, cars, bicycles, and pedestrians — with green buffers improving air quality and helping soften Marbella’s increasingly urban landscape.
The idea follows a trend seen in other Mediterranean cities, adapting to rapid population growth. By creating continuous routes that accommodate more than just private vehicles, the city can open up quicker, more reliable alternatives to driving.
Strengthening the link between Marbella and San Pedro
A key element is reducing the city’s dependence on the two main highways. New east-west connections between Marbella and San Pedro would allow residents to move across the municipality without being forced onto the A-7 or N-340. The PSOE believes this network could unify both population centres, enabling them to function more like a single, coherent city rather than two districts divided by traffic.
A proposal tied to Marbella’s new urban planning era
The timing is strategic. Marbella is drafting a new general urban plan — the long-awaited replacement for the 1986 zoning rules reinstated after the 2010 plan was annulled. This new framework will shape the city for decades, from land development to mobility priorities.
For PSOE spokesperson Isabel Pérez, this is the moment to embed a modern vision of accessibility and sustainability. “Marbella and San Pedro should operate as one city,” she argues. “That requires a mobility model that goes beyond twenty-year-old habits.”
Public transport gaps remain a sticking point
Although Marbella is well-known for offering free bus travel to residents on the municipal padrón, the service itself has notable gaps. Routes often lack frequency, many neighbourhoods remain underserved, and buses struggle to compete with the convenience of the car.
The PSOE says the corridors would only be effective if backed by more reliable public transport — a challenge the city has yet to fully address.
Why mobility matters for both residents and visitors
Tourism remains Marbella’s economic backbone. Yet the same visitors who bring prosperity also add pressure to roads that are already stretched thin. Improving local movement would help residents access work and essential services more easily, but would also shape the experience of the millions who arrive each year.
The proposal will be examined at the November council meeting. Whether it becomes part of the new urban plan will signal how seriously Marbella intends to confront the mobility crisis facing its future.
Source: La Opinion de Malaga