10/01/2003 00:00
TW
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PALMA'S second ring road, never mind becoming more of a reality, is becoming more of a necessity according to the leader of the Insular Council of Majorca, Maria Antonia Munar. Yesterday Munar said she is convinced, sooner or later, the second ring road will be approved because the capital traffic is at gridlock, access roads into the city centre are bottle necks and the roads leading to Son Reus, Son Llatzar hospital and the UIB Balearic University, can no longer cope with the density of the traffic. “I don't know if it will be in May, July or September, but in the long term the project will be approved,” Munar proclaimed yesterday during an Insular Council sponsored professional conference on roads. Delegates at yesterday's congress in Palma included taxi drivers, coach drivers, lorry drivers, traffic police and all agreed that a second ring road has got to be built. Phase one, as the above graphic shows, is complete, phase two will take the road round to the university and the third and possibly fourth phases completing the ring road. The Insular Councillor for Roads, Gonzalo Aguiar, said that further development of the train will not ease Palma's traffic problems, adding that a second ring road “is not a luxury, but the only viable solution to a problem the Insular Council did not create.” The most important phase to complete as quickly as possible is the link from the Inca motorway to the University. Munar said the project will cost between 10 and 15 million euros, but she explained that it will not only ease traffic congestion in Palma but also benefit drivers who live in the city's surrouding villages, which are now becoming part of a thriving commuter belt as the city's urban sprawl gathers momentum. A year ago, the Insular Council was made responsible for Majorca's roads and has invested 50 million euros over the past 12 months in road improvements, in particular getting rid of accident spots. Away from Palma, Munar also believes that improving the road between Inca and Alcudia is a priority project, along with the Palma to Manacor road and the access roads to Peguera and LLuchmayor, two more bottle neck junctions, especially during the summer. But she said these projects need funding from central government.