Debate on cycle laws put on hold

THE Highway Code for cyclists in Palma was not on the agenda of yesterday's City Council meeting as the ruling Socialist team has decided to put the debate on hold until the next government is formed, municipal sources confirmed.

The move by Mayor Aina Calvo's team was taken in the face of the impossibility of reaching agreement over legislation for cycles and cyclists with the opposition Partido Popular. It was also seen by municipal watchdogs as a measure to ensure that the work done to date on the nurturing of a public cycle system and the city's bicycle lanes is not lost prior to the local elections scheduled for 22nd May.

Transport Councillor Jose Hila said that the ruling Council had not discounted further negotiation over cycle legislation but because so much technical work has apparently gone into planning guidelines for cyclists and the use of cycle paths, his department were anxious to “conserve” the results and table them at the Council plenary session planned for July.

If voting on the legislation had gone ahead yesterday, it would most likely have been defeated as the Council are currently ruling in a minority after the departure of the Majorcan Unionists from the ruling Socialist coalition.

Meanwhile, opposition Councillor Carlos Veramendi who had already made his disagreement with the new legislation publicly known, was pleased that the item had been withdrawn from yesterday's agenda.

The bylaws yet to be firmed up include the speed at which cyclists are allowed to travel in the cycle lanes; the minimum standards at which bicycles should be maintained; the ways in which it is permissible to park a bicycle and those which are unacceptable; the creation of a bicycle register to benefit the owner in the event of loss or theft; and a system of penalising riders and owners if they fail to uphold the law, possibly through enforcing the withdrawal of the bicycle from the road.

Public concerns remain that there is currently no insurance for cyclists using the public bicycle system in Palma in the event of an accident.