The Council of Majorca's land department says that last year there was a daily average of 179,731 vehicles using the stretch of the "via cintura" between the Inca motorway intersection and the Soller exit. This was a record number. Although the department doesn't have official figures for this year, it reckons that the record has already been broken by up to 10,000 vehicles more.
The consequences of this level of traffic are jams, and the councillor for land, Mercedes Garrido, acknowledged at this week's full session of the Council that traffic on the via cintura is regularly brought to a standstill. Even the smallest accident can lead to major congestion, and so the Council is starting work on a transport plan for Palma metropolitan area.
Antoni Amengual of El Pi presented a proposal for solutions, in particular for traffic coming into Palma from Inca and Llucmajor as well as for the Son Castelló and Son Fuster exits. The Council, Garrido added, is talking with four town halls - Palma, Calvia, Llucmajor and Marratxi - with one possibility being the establishment of car parks on the outskirts allied to greater use of public transport.
Junctions along the via cintura are the principal cause of tailbacks, the worst one being where the Inca motorway joins the ring road. Here, there are two lanes which filter into the entrance slip road in the Andratx direction. The jams, especially during rush hours, are particularly bad. The single lane for the city centre and the airport generally isn't as affected, but the overall layout of the intersection with the via cintura makes it difficult to find a solution for dealing with ever increasing traffic. The Soller exit, close to the Inca motorway junction, provides another major headache.
Garrido referred to the possibility of special lanes for buses and vehicles with more than two passengers, but accepted that these would be technically complex because of the large number of exits.
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Just to add to my comment - I don't think a park-and-ride would fit the local psyche - people expect to get in their car and stay in it until reaching their destination. In any case the queues at this particular place are less to do with the volume of traffic but more to do with the inadequate nature of the Andratx-bound exit.
I don't think it's a problem with no solution - by far the major pinch-point (to which the article refers) is where traffic from Alcudia/Pollenca direction meets the inadequate single right turn to Andratx. The resultant chaos blocks ALL lanes. Make the Andratx run-off into 3 lanes and the problem will be solved. In fact there may be space to keep the current layout while a new one is constructed in parallel. With that change there would be plenty of space for currently obstructed traffic to continue on its way to east Palma or to the airport and beyond.
Park and ride great idea. This problem is not just on Mallora. Living in the South of England we are gridlocked for most of the time. I'm in a tourist area too, which increases in the summer months but not much improvement in the winter. I've noticed over 30 yrs how busy Mallorca's roads are. Maybe restrict hire cars and manage flight numbers. However don't whinge when numbers drop as in 2013 the tone was..we want more tourists. Hope a solution can be found and preserve the lifestyle and beauty of the island.
In the Season , millions of Hire Cars saturate Mallorca's roads. During the off Season, all the Islands roads are flowing freely, except for workers traffic, mornings and evenings. Restricting Hire Car numbers, and further improvement of Public Transport will reduce congestion. Along with banning cars in Palma. With outside car parking, and compulsory Bus use.