Traffic jams along the Passeig Marítim

Traffic jams at the docks caused havoc along the Paseo Marítimo yesterday morning, as dozens of lorries tried to gain access to the Muelle de Poniente to embark on the ferries to Valencia and Barcelona. Drivers who found themselves in the dock area at around noon found themselves stuck in tailbacks caused by the number of lorries trying to negotiate the difficult entrance to the docks. There were protests from drivers, lorry drivers and passengers arriving at the port by car, who were afraid of missing their boats. According to several lorry drivers, the queues to get on to the Muelle began to build up because the lorries have very little space in which to manouevre and drive on board the ferries. These sources say that this meant the Port Authority only allowed the lorries to enter a few at a time. The Port Authority was also criticised for not allowing the lorries to gather at the entrance to the dock before 10am. The lorry drivers said that the authorities should solve the problem by increasing the space dedicated to lorries, or extending the hours of access to the docks. The drivers said yesterday was not the first time that traffic jams had occurred and it would not be the last. The port police, for their part, did not make an official comment on the incident. Yesterday's problems were aggravated by the maiden voyage of the new Balearia ferry, the Federico Garcia Lorca. The traffic jams which resulted in it being impossible to load all the lorries on time meant that the Trasmediterranea delayed the departure of the Sorolla and Fortuny to Valencia and Barcelona by half an hour.