The Soller Tunnel has been free since the end of December.

The Soller Tunnel has been free since the end of December. | Pere Bota

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterSoller12/01/2018 00:00
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The elimination of the Soller Tunnel toll has led to a significant increase in traffic using the tunnel. Compared with the daily average in January last year, there are now over one thousand more vehicles per day. The 2017 figure was 7,606. This has gone up to 8,625.

Mercedes Garrido, councillor for infrastructure and land at the Council of Majorca, says that around 950 of these additional vehicles are because they are no longer using the Coll de Soller road. At a meeting of the Council, she was responding to a request from El Pi spokesperson Antoni Pastor that there should be a mobility plan to take account of the increased traffic going into Soller. There is a danger, he said, of the town being overwhelmed by the number of vehicles.

The Partido Popular's spokesperson, Jeroni Salom, was critical of Garrido. He accused her of improvisation and of having opened the tunnel without thinking about the consequences. He said that Soller town hall has had to close off traffic access to the town. Garrido denied that this was the case, observing that the town hall was already doing this on Saturdays. The Guardia Civil, she added, has not reported any consequences.

The Council is also, she explained, negotiating with the town hall about the creation of three car parks in Soller.