The city of Logroño has begun building a temporary roundabout at the junction of General Urrutia and Carmen Medrano streets. The councillor responsible for urban planning, mobility and traffic, Ángel Andrés, said the work was prompted by repeated requests from local residents for better traffic management and greater safety at this accident blackspot.
To mark the start of the work, Ángel Andrés and the western district councillor, Laura Lázaro, visited the site together with the president of the Asociación de Vecinos de El Cubo and members of the Federación de Asociaciones de Vecinos de La Rioja. The city says the measures are based on technical recommendations from municipal services and are intended to ease the situation in the short term.
Three immediate changes to the road layout are planned: first, the three pedestrian crossings on the streets involved will be relocated to separate crossing movements. Second, the existing left-turn lane towards Carmen Medrano will be removed to reduce conflict points. Third, the central reservation on General Urrutia will be extended to guide traffic lanes more clearly. The work is being carried out by Logroño City Council using its own resources; the work is currently expected to take around ten days. The city has said it will keep disruption to residents and traffic to a minimum.
The council has clarified that this is a temporary solution. Once it is in operation, the technical department will assess its impact on traffic flow and safety. If the objectives are met, the construction of a permanent roundabout at the same location will be considered. No timetable has been given for a possible permanent redesign. No cost figures beyond those for the temporary work are available either.
The measure is part of the city’s ongoing initiatives, which in 2026 are addressing several bottlenecks in the urban road network. In the city’s view, the temporary roundabout offers an opportunity to gather real-world traffic and safety data before deciding on a more structurally complex, permanent solution. There are currently no third-party statements on its success or failure; reliable assessments are expected only once the city’s analyses are available.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).