All set for the third biggest marathon in Spain

LOCAL Police in Palma have drawn up plans to put special safety and security measures in place on the occasion of the third TUI Marathon in Palma today. The Spanish Army will also collaborate. The aim is to minimise inconvenience caused by the partial or complete closure of avenues and streets of the city and to guarantee the safety of those taking part. A number of local government figures attended the official presentation of the policing and the measures that security forces will be put in place today. These included Rafael Duran, mayor's deputy for Culture, Sports, and Youth events; Alvaro Gijon, deputy for Traffic and Transport, and Citizen Safety at Palma City Hall; and Baldomero Oliver, the sports director of the TUI Marathon. Duran highlighted the fact that the number of athletes taking part in the different sporting sections of the day, i.e. the Marathon, the Half Marathon and the Fun Run, all taking part at the same time, totalled some 4'000. It is now the third biggest marathon in Spain. There will be 220 police officers on duty, 180 volunteers from the Interior Ministry which includes the Civil Defence unit who will be setting up some 710 barriers to close off sections of roads, along with 825 mobile road signals. The volunteers will also be handing out approximately 170'000 information leaflets. About 13 ambulances will be on standby. At the same presentation, Gijon, made clear what times of the day key roads will be shut off to traffic. The section of motorway leading out of Palma in the direction of Andratx will be closed from 6.30am to 6pm; the Paseo Maritimo running in the direction of the airport will be shut off from 8.30am to 12 noon; the central streets of Palma will be blocked from 9am to 1pm; el Molinar along with Coll d'en Rebassa, Ca'n Pastilla and Arenal from 8am to 2pm; and the areas between Avenida Argentina and Aduanas (Customs) from 7am to 6pm. With reference to underground parking lots in Palma, Gijon warned that the one in Via Roma will have limited access from 8am until midday, and that the only way to get into it will be from General Riera passing along Pere Dezcallar i Net, through plaza de los Patines, Santiago Rusiñol and Via Roma. Vehicles exiting from this parking lot will be along Baron de Pinopar street. The Parque del Mar underground carpark will remain closed from 6am to 6pm. Gijon also confirmed that the route of the EMT bus routes in Palma will undergo changes between 9am and 3pm. They will pick up their normal routes as the Marathon runners leave sections of the city behind them. He pointed to the fact that bus lines 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16 and 18 will be affected. Local Police and Mobile Service Units have set up a control hub in the San Fernando Traffic centre, under the watchful eye of a senior police chief, a top technician, a fire service sergeant, representatives from the municipal bus service, EMT. From the Control room, links will be set up with the emergency services, the Council of Majorca traffic directorate, the traffic section of the Guardia Civil, the National Police, the Ports authority, local police from Calvia, Llucmajor and Marratxi. The presence of police officers at the points where traffic is to be diverted, along with on screen information established through the use of cameras and all other data filtered through to the control centre, will provide an overall picture enabling real time decisions to be made on traffic and crowd monitoring. Gijon pointed out that since 13th October last, there has been a free telephone service in operation offering information on the Marathon from Monday to Friday during the mornings, and on Saturday and Sunday up until 8pm. The TUI Marathon is one of the most important sporting events to take place in Palma.