Traffic on main roads into Palma and roads in the centre is said to have been at its limit for some weeks and to be like high season. An earlier and busier season has brought with it increased levels of traffic.
The town hall and the Council of Majorca don't have figures as yet for this year, but it has previously been reported that traffic has increased notably over the past couple of years. However, Joan Ferrer, the councillor for transport, says that the traffic control room recorded levels last month for cloudy days which were similar to those in July or August when the weather deters people from going to the beach and motivates them to go to the city.
It was evident earlier in the season last year that there was increased traffic, and the trend is more evident this year. Although he doesn't have exact numbers, Ferrer explains that there are some 100,000 hire cars available in high season. These have to be added to the more than 600,000 cars on the island. The number of vehicles has grown since the years of crisis.
He denies that there is a failure in town hall mobility policies. "The real failure has nothing to do with us. Steps we are taking are limited because we don't have a large budget, while we are up against a very powerful opponent. Cars are now being sold at more competitive prices and the cost to hire a car is also low."
The Council of Majorca's figures for May and June 2015 showed that the average daily figure for vehicles on the island's main roads had gone up by 12% by comparison with 2012. Marc López, the technical secretary of the Council's land department says that the figure will have risen more in 2016 and will rise more this year. The problem with traffic on roads coming into Palma is a general one, though he points to the Puigpunyent and Valldemossa roads as being particularly problematic.
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We live here in Mallorca and have for 14 years. We've seen the change in traffic pre and post crisis. Winter is still manageable but once March arrives it is a different story. It is like a switch is flicked from a Friday to a Monday and it only gets worse on the roads from there on in until October. It is a small island and as many have noted is reaching saturation point. Yes there are limits but in my opinion decent infrastructure of public transport is the main thing lacking and someone with intelligence doing feasibility studies and probable outcomes of new road works. It's a beautiful island and has so much to offer, we just need some people with forsite and a plan for sustainable tourism and road transport. Surely there are experts the world over that can be consulted.
When we were on holiday last summer in Santa Ponsa, and wanted to see the island but not hire a car, we would usually take a bus at about 8.40 a.m. to Palma to spend the day there or catch another bus or train to somewhere else. I was always pleasantly surprised at how little traffic there was in the city at 9 a.m.and indeed I never saw any traffic congestion in and around Palma. But I did get stuck in some on a bus on the Sa Calobra road, especially when there was a bus coming in the opposite direction.
Now the dangers of diesel exhaust fumes are producing toxic gases. Those people in Palma and any other traffic saturated areas, are being subjected to high levels of exhaust gases. Thousands of Hire Cars come on to the roads throughout the Season. Increased diesel engines powering Buses and Coaches, add to the increased pollution. I wonder how many residents are dying from these increased exhaust gases ?.
So,there are six times as many cars on the Island,presumably owned by residents,as there are hire cars but,once again,it's all the fault of these damn tourists.
Does the roadworks on the Inca -Palma motorway & the incomplete section from the airport to pont inca not help with the congestion.traveling to and from the airport gets worse every visit not because of more traffic but lack of completion of started and abandoned road improvements.