The Madrid City Council has decided to change a controversial protocol that requires the closure of El Retiro and other large parks whenever there is strong wind or extreme heat. As announced by Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, the change in rules will allow El Retiro to remain open for about 20% more days, meaning that preventive closures due to adverse weather will be reduced by approximately 20%.
Until now, the so-called “protocol for responding to exceptionally adverse weather conditions and managing incidents caused by trees” was activated by strictly adhering to the alerts issued by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), which has four risk levels: green, yellow, orange, and red. At the orange level, children’s play areas and sports facilities were restricted, and outdoor activities were suspended; at the red level, El Retiro and other historic parks were evacuated and completely closed until the trees could be re-inspected.
The revision will adjust wind thresholds and other parameters to tailor closures to the specific conditions of each park, with the goal of keeping parks open whenever possible without compromising safety. In practice, this means that closures will not be triggered automatically in response to certain warnings; instead, forecasts will be combined with the park’s own data, accumulated experience, and more refined technical decisions.
A Retiro Park that will close less often
In recent years, the protocol has made numerous headlines: El Retiro and eight other unique parks (El Capricho, the Rose Garden of Parque del Oeste, Juan Carlos I, Juan Pablo II, Fuente del Berro, Quinta de los Molinos, Torre Arias, and the Manzanares Linear Park) have been closed for up to ten consecutive days since spring, officially to prevent the risk of falling branches and trees. The municipal government argued that these closures accounted for barely 1% of the days in the year, but the public perception was that the park was too often “under construction” due to wind or heat.
This improvement in availability will also be supported by operational adjustments that have already been tested, such as the ability to update the red alert up to one hour earlier based on the actual forecast, a measure that has already allowed the park to reopen earlier than planned on occasion while maintaining safety guarantees.
Safety and political controversy
The City Council insists that the priority remains preventing accidents and protecting visitors from falling branches, especially during episodes of strong winds combined with high temperatures—a combination that has caused incidents in the past.
However, the relaxation of the protocol has not convinced the entire opposition. The PSOE and Más Madrid have questioned whether the revision comes “too late, ” whether it was carried out “without sufficient dialogue,” and whether it could be interpreted as a concession to neighborhood criticism at the expense of relaxing caution. These groups are calling for an update to the tree inventory, a revision of the Retiro master plan, and a prioritization of inspections and preventive measures in children’s play areas and sports facilities, so that safety does not depend solely on closing or opening these areas, but rather on more comprehensive maintenance.