An empty blue zone under the watchful eye of an ORA inspector.

An empty blue zone under the watchful eye of an ORA inspector. | Ana Largo

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma22/09/2017 00:00
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Palma's day without cars yesterday led to some complaints among workers who have no other choice than to travel to the city by car. Parking in the ORA blue zones was prohibited and fines were possible until eight in the evening for any driver who parked in them. Tourists were also affected, as they had no idea about the arrangements.

Nevertheless, the town hall's mobility councillor, Joan Ferrer, reckoned that everything was normal (meaning that there weren't any problems) and that the day, a European initiative rather than a Palma one alone, had been welcomed by the public. He was at pains to point out that the car parks not right in the centre that were free for the day were fuller than on ordinary days, which he took to show that the initiative was working.

The traffic control room reported that traffic flow was also normal, though two accidents on the Via Cintura had caused jams. There was in fact a serious accident in the Genova tunnel (heading towards Andratx) involving a female motorcyclist and a car.

By mid-afternoon yesterday only 45 fines had been handed. This was a very low figure, given that the daily average for parking infringements is around 500. Ferrer insisted that there was "strong awareness" of the day and that many citizens had been able to prove that there is a different type of mobility.

In the lead-up to yesterday's day without cars, the town hall appeared to make no mention of the fact that the underground car parks would be open. Such was the demand that they were full by eleven in the morning and there were lengthy queues to get into them.