Paredes de Coura invests 400,000 euros in the Camino de Santiago

Paredes de Coura City Council announced an investment of around 400,000 euros to renovate the municipal albergue of Rubiães and improve pilgrim safety on the Camino de Santiago. The interventions include energy-efficiency upgrades to the building and changes to the route to reduce dangerous situations.

At the albergue of Rubiães, which marks its 20th anniversary and supports hundreds of pilgrims who cross the municipality every year, thermal insulation will be improved, almost all climate control and water heating systems will be replaced, and photovoltaic panels and mechanical ventilation will be installed in the dormitories. The shower facilities will also be fully renovated.

The interventions on the route will focus mainly on sections near roads with heavier traffic. Changes to walls, ramps, and access points are planned, in addition to vertical danger signage and flexible separators between the pedestrian area and the roadway. The objective is to reduce pilgrims’ contact with automobile traffic by redirecting the Camino, whenever possible, to existing interior routes that will be rehabilitated.

Together with Ponte de Lima and Valença, the municipality of Paredes de Coura also intends to implement a complementary emergency system to reinforce pilgrim safety which, when activated, will allow people at risk to be identified and located, especially in areas with little or no mobile coverage.