It's not just the likes of SUVs. An Opel Corsa, for example, is 24 centimetres longer and twelve centimetres wider than it was 20 years ago.
Transport & Environment, the European Federation for Transport and the Environment, estimates that the average size of cars in the EU has increased by half a centimetre a year over the last three decades. The increased size doesn't only create problems when driving on narrow streets. Parking is impacted. Old car parks are becoming obsolete, as spaces aren't big enough.
Commenting on the situation in Palma, urban planner María Gómez says that new streets are now designed so that they are wide enough for today's car. "But then there is the existing city, and in the end it's a question of status: the bigger, the better."
She points out that garage doors are having to be widened but that on streets in the historic centre there isn't the room to turn a car easily. Gómez adds that SUVs are too imposing, be this for other car drivers, cyclists or pedestrians.
"They're a problem because they are high and affect visibility. In the USA there have been awareness campaigns because of numerous accidents involving children, who are smaller than the nose of the vehicle and can't be seen by the driver. These vehicles are safe if you live in the mountains or in an area with snow. But above all, you have to take into account their energy consumption."
Cristina Llorente, president of the Palma XXI association, is blunt in her assessment: "The problem is cars, whether they are large or small and however they are powered. The solution lies with public transport and we must reduce the number of tourists in order to reduce the number of cars."
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One can look at the Mini, and how that has developed over the years , from a nice small car of the 1960's to now a family sized larger car. A lot of cars that started small have ended up a lot larger. It is no wonder that a lot of family cars now struggle to get around on roads that were originally for a "Donkey and Cart when the properties were built. This problem is not just in Mallorca, but world wide
Charles Dalrymple-ChumleyHow lucky you are who have two cars! In Mallorca?
I do not like 4x4 Gas Guzzling Planet Pollutors.. But "Kia" must have great sales people. Or very special deals. The Towns and Villages were built with narrow roads etc. To cause shade in the Summer Sun. But progress in the World of cars have developed very big gas guzzlers. That struggle in narrow shaded streets.
3 solutions to this problem: 1) Knock down the entire city and rebuild it with bigger streets. 2) Make a law that requires only small cars (or motos) can be driven in Mallorca. 3) Public transport (as suggested). Lots of it. Which one (if any) do you think is most likely to succeed? If you think Palma traffic is bad, ever been to Rome?
This issue is a truism in most European cities. Many SUVs in city centres are marked with "go faster" stripes along their sides where they have brushed the walls of narrow streets. I use a Smart car in urban centres and an SUV for the rest. The Smart is perfect for solving the problem that this article covers.