The mayor of Salamanca, Carlos García Carbayo, has today taken stock of the two years of mandate of the current municipal government team, a period in which, according to his words, they have worked "very intensively" to advance in the "transformation of Salamanca" and make it a city "with more opportunities, more technological, greener, more accessible, safer, with a higher quality of public services and, ultimately, more livable." The mayor has emphasized the involvement of other administrations and institutions, companies, associative fabric, and civil society in the major city projects. Likewise, he has assured that one hundred percent of the program with which the current government team presented itself for election "has been fulfilled or is in the process of being fulfilled."
García Carbayo has pointed out that investments of 103,274,000 euros have been executed in these two years. "This increasing investment has not prevented the freezing of municipal taxes during these two years, chaining eleven consecutive years. Nor has it prevented maintaining healthy accounts, with a surplus in the two exercises," he added.
Major Projects Executed
The mayor of Salamanca has highlighted that in these two years, significant infrastructures and facilities have been put into operation. Among them, for its symbolic value, stands out the Carmen Martín Gaite Library in Pizarrales (3M€), the city’s seventh, which also coincided with the centenary of the birth of the writer to whom a comprehensive program of activities has been dedicated.
The long-awaited Chamberí senior center (2.2M€), the city’s third, and the visitor reception center at Fonda Veracruz (870,000€) also opened their doors. And just a few weeks ago, the unveiling of the San Vicente Hill Museum (1.3M€) took place, to showcase the invisible Salamanca at the place where it all began, 2,700 years ago.
Urbanism
In terms of urbanism, accessibility has been one of the priorities in the projects undertaken. The urbanization of the Ledesma road (2.3M€) has been completed; safe pedestrian itineraries in Prosperidad, Carmelitas-Oeste, Rollo, Vidal, Salesas, and Garrido Norte (4M€); the urbanization of Rocinante, La Misión, and Santa Rita streets in the Blanco neighborhood (571,000€); and the renovation of the stairs of Plaza Mayor (109,000 euros). The works of the Gran Vía stairs elevator (269,588€); the urbanization of La Vega neighborhood (1.5M€); the residential environment of Gladiolos (497,000€) and the urbanization of Gran Capitán (589,557€); and in weeks, the execution of the works of the PERI7 of the Salamanca avenue (1.2M€) will be undertaken.
The improvement of squares and public spaces continues, with the completion of works in all squares of the Zurguén neighborhood (560,000€), interventions in the squares of San Bernardo (339.90€) and in the square of San Román (144,033€), and the drafting of projects for other highly demanded squares such as Vistahermosa square (693,937€) and Santa Cecilia square (269,872€), the latter being the last one to act in San José. "It is a clear demonstration that investment in our neighborhoods does not rest," said the mayor. On the other hand, the investment in heritage has been 3.6 million since 2023.
García Carbayo has highlighted that two fundamental projects for the historic center have been unblocked, such as the reform of Los Bandos square (the winning proposal of the ideas competition has already been selected and work on the project is underway) and Las Adoratrices, whose previous heritage impact assessment has been drafted, and work on the preliminary idea for the project is underway.
Parking
The mayor emphasizes that a "significant effort" is being made to ensure that all these actions "result in the least possible loss of parking spaces, aware of the concern in the population." With this objective, 606 surface parking spaces have been created in these two years in Zurguén, the former Merca, the La Aldehuela avenue, and the Maestro Luna square. In addition to these, the 226 parking spaces on San Agustín avenue will be added. In total, in the last decade, Salamanca has gained 6,079 net free parking spaces.
Environment
In these two years, the greening of the city has been deepened as a formula to improve the quality of life for the inhabitants of Salamanca. The green corridors have been completed with the transformation of 28 hectares between Salas Bajas and El Marín, which, together with the other actions, offer the people of Salamanca 13 kilometers of pedestrian and cycling paths and 700 urban gardens along the banks of the Tormes. And the planting of more than 32,000 new trees has just been announced.
A key boost has also been given to pipe renovation to reduce bursts. During the current mandate, 15.6 kilometers of pipes have been replaced or their replacement is committed in 74 streets with an investment of 4.8 million euros.
Housing
García Carbayo has pointed out that in a moment like the current one, where access to housing has become one of the main national problems, administrations must take a "step forward" and has recalled that, since its creation, the Municipal Housing and Urbanism Board has built 65 developments in Salamanca with 2,445 delivered homes.
In these two years, the keys to 18 rental homes in Huerta Otea (2.9M€) and 48 in Pizarrales (4.7M€) have been delivered. Meanwhile, the construction of another 55 in Pizarrales (6.7M€) is progressing well, and the awarding of the 48 collaborative houses in Capuchinos (6.3M€) is imminent.
Sports Facilities
The renovation of sports facilities has been another major commitment of the City Council so that the people of Salamanca and the clubs that use them can have fields and courts in perfect condition.
In addition to advancing in the project of the new Pizarrales sports center, another facility that has been incorporated is the Lazarillo sports city with an investment of 2.7 million euros. The heated pool of La Alamedilla has been completely renovated (3.5M€), and work has also been done on the Helmántico pool (317,000€).
The renovation of the dressing rooms of Tori (259,184€) and La Salud (49,279€), the renovation of the pavements of the Tormes River (77,235€) and La Salud (69,213€), the covering of the Würzburg annex (97,783€), and the replacement of the grass of Rosa Colorado (239,983€), are other works executed or in progress.
In addition to all this, the improvements that will be made in the Würzburg Silvia Domínguez pavilion, where 558,000 euros will be invested to improve the seats, dressing rooms, painting, and the public address system of the pavilion, should be added.
Likewise, the necessary steps have been taken to carry out the renovation of the Lazarillo pavilion pavement (97,375€), the renovation of the sports courts of Rosa Colorado (1M€) and the Ángel Pérez Huerta football field (500,000€). In addition, there will be very relevant investments in the Reina Sofía pavilion (900,000€) and in the Neme football field (1M€).
Logistics and Technological Developments
Logistics and technological developments have received a decisive boost in these two years. Thanks to the investment of the Junta de Castilla y León in the two signed protocols, the Dry Port will become a reality (22.1M€, 18.9M€ of them financed by the regional government). The works to allow trains to access are being finalized, the works for the construction of bulk facilities have just been tendered (which will give an important competitive advantage compared to other logistics nodes), and also the management of the Dry Port itself.
With the completion of the urbanization of almost 130,000 square meters in the Peña Alta Sector, the first phase of the urbanization works of another 244,000 square meters has already been tendered to encourage the settlement of companies.
The Salamanca Tech strategy and the complementary economic model based on technological development are advancing "unstoppably," in the words of the mayor. In recent months, in addition to the Tormes + Entrepreneurship and Training Center and the AI and Internet of Things center, Abioinnova and the Tormes+ Technological Innovation Space have been added. In addition, the lands of the former Merca have been developed for the construction of the future Technological District. "And we have in the pipeline two new innovation centers, one to reduce the digital divide among our elders and another for social and labor innovation in favor of the younger generation," García Carbayo announced.
Commerce and Tourism
The mayor assures that the City Council does not forget about the classic economic sectors of the Salamanca economy such as commerce and tourism. Regarding the former, it should be noted that the SALdeCompras initiative to revitalize local commerce has mobilized more than 25 million euros in sales since its launch in October 2023. In terms of tourism, the year 2023 marked a record of overnight stays, and 2024 marked a record of foreign visitors. This year is registering excellent data with the best April in travelers in history.
New tourist proposals have been incorporated, such as the Miradores Route, the Archaeological Constellations, and the integration of the Tormes River and other neighborhoods with tourist appeal.
Social Services, Seniors, and Public Health
The mayor has stated that Salamanca is a city that "continues to be at the forefront in social services." "Social policies are a great investment for the people of Salamanca, and six out of every ten euros of the municipal budget are allocated to this purpose," he emphasized.
Among the main milestones of these two years of mandate are the support for dependence with an increase of 2 million in aid programs and home-delivered meals where there are already more than 8,000 users (it will soon be increased by 500,000 euros with reinforcement in home care). It is also worth highlighting the support for job placement, thanks to the CEFOL where it is expected to facilitate access to the market for about 2,000 people this year, a figure that is four times the one in 2024.
On the other hand, 841,000 euros have been allocated in these two years for birth aid, benefiting 642 families. And every year, 10,000 places are offered in toy libraries to promote reconciliation and 411 nursery places.
"The elderly are also a priority with programs that are part of the DNA of our government action, such as Salamanca Acompaña, which currently has 315 participants. Economic aid to elderly associations has been increased, and the dance program has been expanded as they themselves demanded," García Carbayo recalled.
The promotion of a healthy life through proposals such as Salamanca a Tope with more than 15,000 participants in 2024 alone or the School of Health, with the participation of 23,000 students, are other key points of the government action of the City Council.
Culture, Festivities, Education, and Participation
In the field of Culture, the City Council has established itself as the main cultural programmer. In 2024 alone, more than 600 activities were developed in which 2 million people participated.
Activities that increasingly take place in the streets. The people of Salamanca want culture in the streets and are enthusiastic about festive programming, as demonstrated at Christmas with the ambitious proposal that brought together 1.7 million people. This year also achieved a record number of participants and floats in the Three Kings Parade, and in the Fairs and Festivals, 22 concerts have been held in these two years with 320,000 attendees.
The collaboration agreement with Holy Week has been tripled, and impetus has been given to the San Juan de Sahagún program, which has also had the public’s support in the various proposals held last week with more than 110,000 people.
García Carbayo also mentioned the renovation that has been carried out at the Municipal Music School, where the number of students of all ages enrolled has already exceeded a thousand.
Two notes on Education, with 7,232 participants in two years in educational concerts and almost 10,000 in the program ‘Schoolchildren go to the theater.’ And in Participation, where subsidies have been increased to 115,000 euros and all formal participation channels have been deployed.
Mobility
The mayor has stated that Salamanca "continues to be a reference in terms of the quality of public services." He highlighted the urban bus, one of the cheapest and most valued in Spain, which closed 2024 with its historical record of passengers with almost 14.8 million. To continue improving this service, two new lines have been put into operation, 25 new electric buses have been added, 30 new bus shelters have been installed, and 120 time screens have been placed.
Finally, García Carbayo has assured that this City Council "has also been demanding to ensure that Salamanca has the investments it deserves." "Especially in terms of communications where we have not rested a day in asking for an increase in fast train frequencies with Madrid, the recovery of the Ruta de la Plata railway, that one of the AVE branches from Portugal passes through here, and that the electrification is completed to the border, key for our Dry Port," he stated.
The mayor affirmed that "the milestones achieved in these two years have allowed us to continue delving into this great transformation of Salamanca." In his words, "there is still a long way to go." "There is no place for relaxation or complacency. We must continue working in these two years with the same intensity or more than until now. The people of Salamanca demand it from us, and we want to live up to their expectations and needs," he concluded.