The passage of vehicles of more than fifteen tons through the road that connects Aizarna with Bentaberri is prohibited”, they say. The Aizarnar have been fighting this issue for many years and the City Council has been accused of “neglect”. “Our concern is to ensure public safety. Every day we gather children and adults in and around the square and we don’t feel safe.” The members of the association explain that they do not want to have any problems with the wood lovers, they have nothing against them.

According to the mayor, Josetxo Mendizabal, “We have to remove the wood, many trees are affected by the disease and many others were planted about twenty years ago and now they are gone tomorrow. They will continue to extract timber from the lands around Aizarna for four or five years.” Mendizabal states that vehicles with a maximum weight of 26 tonnes and three axles are allowed to pass through this route, even if they are towed to the same vehicle. “We know that trucks that do not comply with the law have been operating in recent weeks. The House of Representatives does not authorize these so-called “trailers” and the police are informed.”

Mendizábal explains that they are studying the measures they can take to ensure their safety. “At the beginning of the road to get up and down from Iraeta to Bentaberria we value the installation of signs warning that the trucks are working. However, according to the members of the Popular Association, this measure does not solve the problem in any way. “These posters can be removed or modified by anyone. In addition, they are often left in place even when they are not working. According to the mayor, many cars pass through the area of the square of the neighborhood faster and often create more risk, the size of the trucks is large but they run at a slower speed.

The City Council of Zestoa will try to solve the “concern” that the Popular Association of Aizarna has expressed about the presence of large trucks, said Urola Kosta. The mayor, Josetxo Mendizabal, explained that today the Urban Planning Commission was held to address the issue, where a series of measures have been decided. Mendizabal is aware of the dangers posed by trucks both on the road and in the town centre of Aizarna. He says, however, that the peasants and environmentalists will continue to extract timber for the next two or three years, and to solve the problem, they have decided to put several signs around the trucks on the hull and others warning of speed at the entrance of Aizarna. In addition, the mayor has indicated that he will meet with members of the association to discuss what measures they can take. “It’s true that there is danger, but we can’t do much more.”

Some of the images that the Asociación Popular de Aizarna has sent us: