The Gate of the Pomegranates opens to the public today

The standing committee of the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife has determined that the access path by the Gate of the Pomegranates will stay pedestrian-only. To this conclusion have come representatives of the Regional Ministry of Culture, Spanish Ministry of Culture and Granada City Council, who have convened in the Palace of Charles V today. Before this meeting, the access path connecting the city of Granada with the Monumental Complex has been opened to the public.
The Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife has followed the instructions of expert assessments, made during the restoration work on the Gate of the Pomegranates. Therefore it has been deemed necessary to continue the interruption of minibus transportation service passing Cuesta de Gomérez until the implementation of the technology of zero emission electric motor vehicles. The Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, under the Regional Ministry of Culture, assumes the costs for the modification of the routes of bus numbers 30, 32 and 34, amounting to 330,009.04 € in 2010, aiming to guarantee the preservation of the Gate of the Pomegranates.
Furthermore, the Autonomous Government of Andalusia has also committed today to economic collaboration with the Granada City Council for the purchase of new buses with the adequate technology that guarantees low emission of air pollutants in the Monumental Complex. As an additional measure, the Granada City Council has installed surveillance cameras to control the access to Cuesta de Gomerez.
Also a Committee has been formed by experts of the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife and of the Granada City Council to guarantee and control compliance with the incurred liabilities.
This agreement is part of the General Arrangement of the accessibility, mobility, traffic and transportation, included in the L-E 3 Guideline on Strategy for Sustainable Use of the Alhambra within the Business Plan, which was approved by the plenary assembly of the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife in its extraordinary meeting, October 5, 2007. This General Arrangement will be explained and included in the Special Plan for Protection and Interior Alterations of the Alhambra and Alijares, which is being drawn up at present.