Antoni Maura traffic cut by over 60%

No turn into Antoni Maura except for authorised vehicles. | Joan Torres

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma04/01/2018 00:00

Traffic restrictions on the Antoni Maura avenue in Palma, which leads to the Born, were introduced in July 2016. In late August of that year they came fully into force (i.e. fines started to be handed out), and over the following twelve months the level of traffic dropped by 62%.

The road can still be used by categories of authorised vehicles turning in from the Paseo Marítimo, but since the restrictions took effect, the daily average has gone down to 2,450 vehicles. There were times when the number used to reach 6,500. The decrease in traffic has been particularly notable at weekends, when there are some 700 fewer vehicles than on weekdays.

Palma's transport councillor, Joan Ferrer, believes that the cutting of traffic on Antoni Maura has shown that "brave ideas work". Initial criticisms, such as those from the leader of the Partido Popular in Palma, Marga Durán, have proved to be "erroneous". The change has not led to jams elsewhere.

The number of penalties handed out to drivers of non-authorised vehicles was over 128,000. This equated to more than 14% of the vehicles that used the road. Ferrer doesn't consider this percentage to be particularly high, though it is well above the percentages for fines in other parts of Palma where restrictions apply. Around the Cathedral, for example, it was just 1.24% (2,340 vehicles) for the same twelve-month period.