Bonaire business owners & residents launch ACIRE petition. | P. Pellicer

TW
0

Business owners and residents in the Bonaire district of Palma have launched a petition to overturn plans to extend the Acire.

The Association of Merchants of Bonaire, Santa Maria del Sepulcro and adjacent streets has also accused Palma City Council of not listening to their fears, concerns and frustrations.

The Acire extension means that road traffic will limited to residents, which business owners claim will seriously harm trade.

"We found out about the project through the media, so we started a petition and we’ve already got more than 2,000 signatures,” said Association President, Olivia Barceló.

A meeting with Mobilitat Councillor, Francesc Dalmau failed to resolve the issue and Barceló criticised the Government's lack of awareness.

"It seems that they do not realise the damage caused by the pandemic and now they want to punish us even more by hindering citizen access to the centre,” she said.

“This measure must be withdrawn, firstly because we believe that no action can be taken that is not covered by the current Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, or PMUS; secondly, because this is not the time for experiments and thirdly, because we consider that the Acire cannot be contemplated in a street with commercial character. There is deep concern for what will become of us in the near future," said Barceló. "We ask that work be done in time slots, in short-stay areas and that the loading and unloading areas be expanded. We want creativity, not destruction. The blindness they show does not allow them to see the electoral cost of intransigence and arrogance in which they have settled and they will pay dearly at the polls in two years time.”