In February 2020, the month before the state of alarm was declared and mobility restrictions were imposed, there was a daily average of 14,374, a very similar number to 2019. In 2021, when the impact of the pandemic was still evident, the number fell to 11,892. There was an increase to 13,218 in 2022 and to 13,294 in 2023.
Year-on-year, therefore, there was a small increase. Nevertheless, the volume of traffic is clearly down compared with five years ago. But the mobility councillor, Antonio Deudero, recognises that the people of Palma "do not perceive that the city's traffic is any less saturated", the areas with the highest volume including the Avenidas and these roads' entrances and exits.
Deudero doesn't believe that the decrease is due to free public transport. This came into force in January 2023 but in 2022 there had already been a significant decrease. The reasons he identifies are inflation, the price of fuel and difficulties with finding parking.
The councillor argues that traffic density in Palma is more related to residents than to tourists. Last year, the months with the most vehicles per day were June (14,484) and October (14,641). The lowest figures were for January (13,162) and August (13,168).
* The figures relate to municipal roads and not to Council of Mallorca roads, e.g. the Via Cintura.
3 comments
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So. Is there too many cars on the Island?. With much more traffic to come when all the Hire Cars come on to the roads this Season.
I don't care what any politician says or the statistics - There are A LOT more cars on the vía cintura now than in previous years. And the road from Palma towards Andratx has become one long traffic jam for 3 months of the year (at certain times of the day). Is there less traffic in Palma itself? I doubt it.
Surely this is largely down to many drivers avoiding the two-year construction project on Paseo Maritimo? If you're driving east-west (or west-east) across the south of the island, and might previously have routed through Palma city on Paseo Maritimo, using Via Cintura (i.e. bypassing the city) has been the better route option during the construction project. Statistics can be so misleading (and abused by politicians)!