Throughout the Easter holidays, FAOC has conducted an electronic survey (in Spanish and English) among the residents of Orihuela Costa, in which we have zoned in 34 urbanisations, of which we have statistical data.
The objective of the survey was to evaluate the level of services such as refuse collection and street cleaning; beaches; the maintenance of roads, lighting, parks and gardens; and the overall degree of satisfaction of the residents regarding the municipal services they receive from the council of Orihuela.
The participation of the survey has been excellent because 99 response forms have been received, corresponding to 28 different urbanisations, distributed among the interior urbanisations and the coast. This is the summary of the results obtained:
- Beaches
In the section of beaches, the responses of the users determine the most visited are, in this order, Cala Capitán, La Glea, La Caleta (Cabo Roig) and Cala Bosque (La Zenia).
Unfortunately, the municipal services provided on the beaches of Orihuela are the only ones that the residents value positively, with an average score of 6.6 (on a scale of 0 to 10 points).
And, yes, highlighting the need to significantly improve the deficiencies reported in the cleaning of the sand (36% of respondents), emptying the litter bins (37%) and, especially, the removal of algae/seaweed, that 83% of the respondents think it is not carried out on a regular basis.
2. Refuse collection, and street cleaning
The Department of refuse collection and street cleaning receives a thumbs down with citizens, since the services provided are negatively assessed, with an average score of 4.8 points (deficient).
71% of users report serious deficiencies in containers (never washed, they need more, they are broken or old); 66% indicate that there are failures of punctuality in their collection and emptying; and 80% report dirt in the streets due to lack of a street sweeper.
To these deficiencies we must add those on the beaches, since the emptying of litter bins and the removal of algae are services that this department is responsible for.
As has been recently published, the ombudsman in Valencia, at the request of FAOC, has recommended to this department that they increase the staffing and machinery allocated to Orihuela Costa, to adjust it to the real needs for this area of the municipality. We hope that the city council takes note and acts accordingly.
FAOC, on the other hand, has been demanding for a long time from the head of the refuse collection and street cleaning department that the work plan/agenda in each area be made public, which to this day has still not happened.
- Maintenance of roads, street lighting, playgrounds, parks and gardens
The assessment that the residents have about the maintenance of roads, lighting, children’s areas, parks and gardens, is not good either, with an overall mark of 4.7 points (deficient) in the survey.
The evidence of the need for a widespread road re-surfacing operation across the entire coast comes from the fact that a whopping 93% of respondents report the existence of potholes in streets or even the need to tarmac them in their entirety. In the case of pavements, this percentage is 73%.
The serious deficiencies in road signs (vertical and horizontal) mean that around 67% of users request their renewal.
Public lighting is also a subject of complaints with 70% of the respondents, complaining of inoperative streetlights, poor lighting or the need to instal new additional lighting.
Users report that 54% of children’s areas are in need of new play equipment or they are defective; 37% ask for the renewal of the rubber flooring; and 46% complain of their neglect in the absence of removal and trimming of weeds and bushes.
74% of the respondents think that the parks and gardens of Orihuela Costa are poorly maintained or left totally abandoned. We will have to wait to learn if the new contract, which will be tendered soon, for the maintenance of parks and gardens, will provide the parks of the coast with an adequate level of care.
The removal of weeds from the public roads and pavements, work that we recognise has improved in recent months, still does not deliver the required result, probably due to the scarcity of the resources allocated, in contrast to the needs. In this sense, 60% of the users indicate that their streets and pavements usually have weeds; and, even, 27% believe that the city council never removes them.
- Degree of global satisfaction
Citizens surveyed about their overall satisfaction with all the municipal services they receive, doesn’t receive overall approval, since it remains at 4.9 points.
55% of the residents show a degree of satisfaction below that acceptable, while 44% are satisfied with the general level of services.
We have the impression that these figures are due to the positive assessment made by almost half of the residents of the actions undertaken to date.
The approved rating we believe could improve when the announced actions are undertaken, pending execution (asphalting roads, new contract of parks and gardens, renovation of children’s areas, etc.) and extend to all areas of Orihuela Costa that need them.
In this sense, we want to pass the results of this survey to the government team, in order to help accelerate the planned actions and make the investment effort that Orihuela Costa deserves, especially in the 2018 Budgets, which they are in the process of drafting and approval.
Orihuela Costa, April 16, 2018
