Mayor opens plaza España car park

Mayor of Palma Joan Fageda yesterday opened the new car park beneath the Plaza España, which has a capacity for 844 vehicles. A total of 208 parking spaces have been reserved for residents in the area while the rest are for temporary parking. According to the city council, the car park has cost more than 6.3 million euros. It has three floors with three entrances and two exits for vehicles and five accesses for pedestrians. In his speech, Fageda said that the new car park, which will be operational from today, is “one more step in equipping the city with car parks.” Its advantages, he said, were that it is central, and will promote the use of public transport, as the Plaza España is a key point in the bus network in Palma. Mayor Fageda then uncovered a commemorative plaque at one of the accesses for pedestrians. He added that the car park completes the refurbishment in the Plaza España. Rafael Vidal, the deputy mayor in charge of planning, said that there were just “a few small deficiencies” to be resolved. He also commented on plans to fence off the Stations Park, explaining that this project is still being studied. He added that it would most probably consist of a low wall and a railing. As to the new car park, Vidal said that the council will reserve four or five places for council use, for vehicles used by the tourism office employees and the people in charge of looking after the plants in the square. Fageda stressed the importance of the network of car parks in the city centre, at the Plaza Olivar, Avenida Comte de Sallent and now the Plaza de España, but expressed disappointment over problems encountered in the car park of the Puerta de Santa Catalina. This car park has been a source of dispute between the city council and the Balearic environment ministry which wants to save the pine trees in the square, while the council wants to fell them and replace them with palm trees once the car park is completed. He expressed a wish that the new city council elected in May will be able to complete this project.