Let there be light is my shout for the week. Why are the elderly in Soller rarely seen on the streets in the evening? Some might choose not to go out, others would love to, but they can’t see where they are going. Uneven pavements and poor street lighting are amongst the top hates of the older generation. We all live in a permanent state of fear over the disability and lack of independence one fall can have. Many of them have experience of this and know exactly what they are talking about.
It was with this in mind I bought a torch and investigated the mean streets of Soller. Walking down our main Boulevard of the Gran Via I was fine under the LED streetlight. Moving towards the next lamppost I needed the torch. Walking toward the main road and then on the cycle path towards my home – no lights at all apart from the headlights of oncoming cars. Torch essential and probably need a less scary route for the darker hours.
Walk up Carrer Isobel to the new car park in the dark, it’s light and dark the whole way. Get to the Car Park and no lights at all, the torch is essential to avoid falling on the poor car park surface. My suggestion is that a group of town planners, carrying torches do my route in the dark. It will take minutes for them to realise why older people do not come out at night in Soller.
Poor street lighting and uneven pavements are everywhere in Soller. Offering no solutions means that almost half the population are prisoners in their own homes after dark. The elderly are being denied their human right to ‘life and liberty’. Switch the lights on Soller – we are all waiting…