New Mayor of Palma targets cleanliness, crime and traffic

CATALINA Cirer, the new Mayor of Palma, said yesterday that the first steps she intends to take will be towards creating a “cleaner and safer city with less traffic congestion.” Cirer will continue the Partido Popular's legacy in Palma, taking over from Joan Fageda who stepped down before the elections after being Mayor for 12 years. He is likely to be offered a position in the new Balearic government. “The PP has done many good things over the past 12 years,” Cirer said yesterday, “but the city has grown and will continue growing, creating new problems. We've got to be prepared to deal with the new hurdles the future will throw up, move with the times and design a city for the future.” With regards to the PP's election victory in Palma, Cirer said that the city's residents believe that things were working and going well, however she admitted that the regional government result and picking up 17'000 more votes than in 1999, was a surprise. But for Palma, where nearly 50 per cent of the electorate live, Cirer's immediate tasks once she takes over in City Hall will be a massive clean up of the capital, tackle the city's security and safety fears and start work on solving the rising traffic problems. She intends to do this in co-operation with the city's various neighbourhood associations and organisations, on whose advice she is prepared to act in order to create a city in which people want to live and are happy to live. “We need to break the city down into neighbourhoods and treat the needs of each one separately. To do that we have got to meet and listen to the public, despite what some people may think, I do not intend to only meet the residents when the elections come around,” she said. For the long term, there are a number of major projects, such as the new sea front for Palma, more municipal sports centres and improved transport access to the ferry and passenger ports.