Font Roja traffic jams s’no joke

RECENT sub-zero weather provoked an avalanche in the Font Roja national park.

Snow was not the problem, however, but the Sunday drivers who flocked to see it in the inland area near Alcoy.

Alcoy council is now debating whether to limit access to the park when it snows in future. At one point there was a one-kilometre tailback as cars, unable to enter the full car park, jammed the road, barring the exit for drivers trying to leave. 

A similar situation would be disastrous in an emergency, the town hall pointed out, while pollution caused by so many cars was harmful to the park’s wildlife.

This would not be the first time that access to the Font Roja park has been restricted. Buses were put on last Easter so that families making the traditional trip to the countryside did not saturate the area with cars. 

“We realise it’s complicated as it depends on the weather and not definite dates but we intend to raise the matter with the park’s board of governors,” said Alcoy’s Environment councillor, Paco Agullo.