The first meeting of the Sanfermines Fiestas Commission for the fiestas of 2014 met yesterday for the first time. The mayor of Pamplona, Enrique Maya, presented a summing-up of this year’s fiestas of 2013 by analyzing aspects such as transport, the results of the new parking restrictions and the street-cleaning operations. In Addition, some proposals were made about the possible spread of the fiestas by some of the assistants (Izquierda Ezquerra political party see the complete proposal-) and also means of improving conditions for disabled people during the fiesta (Cormin).
This commission – the Mesa de los Sanfermines – is a non-legislating board made up of the different political parties as well as different cultural and social entities which have some relationship with the fiestas (The people behind the Giants and representatives of the runners in the Running of the Bulls, etc…). The aim is to try to improve different aspects of the fiestas through their advice and suggestions. There is also a Running of the Bulls commission set up for the same purpose which will meet next 1st of October in order to analyze the occurrences which took place in the last fiestas (the pile-up crush of the 13th, the over-crowding, access to the event and the behavior of the bulls).
At yesterday’s meeting the pay-parking idea was positively evaluated in the so-called “zona naranja “(paying to park in the old part of Pamplona). This innovation allowed parking in the city center and allowed for more fluid traffic during fiestas. It also provided a total of 351.903 euros arising from the parking of 165.286 vehicles. It was also stated the idea of a shuttle urban bus service from the outlying neighborhood of Lezkairu to the center did not have the hoped for result in spite of the promotion campaign carried out. (note from sf.com: a campaign which the local press used to promote the idea but not the rest of the media.) Generally, it was accepted that the positive aspects would be repeated for the next fiestas
It was also decided to consider the creation of a forum on the web to have debates and Se allow participation among the members of the commission.
