Palma mayor Antoni Noguera has reacted to Council of Majorca concerns about planned alterations to traffic on the Paseo Marítimo by saying that these will not cause traffic chaos in the city.
Noguera (of Més) insists that he doesn't want to get into an argument with Mercedes Garrido (PSOE) at the Council of Majorca and also insists that the project for the Paseo is perfectly viable. "For the health of our city, it is more necessary than ever that we pacify and humanise the Paseo Marítimo and make it a green area." He adds that it is clear that there will be changes to traffic and to car parking, and notes that urban planning experts have agreed that the Paseo needs to be calmed.
For the first time, he explains, the town hall and the Balearic Ports Authority are working together in planning the future of the port and the city. Moreover, the project for the Paseo has generated wide consensus among the public.
Noguera refers to the contamination from emissions and the contribution these make to climate change in Palma. "The city has started to work, especially because of the left-wing administration, on sustainable mobility that removes negative impacts on health and climate change." Alluding to the Paris summit on climate change, he stresses the health consequences of climate change. In Spanish cities, he says, 15,000 people die each year because of the consequence of atmospheric contamination.
The mayor draws attention to the fact that there are over 740,000 registered vehicles in Majorca. On top of these are the hire cars in the summer. It is a "chilling number for a finite territory" and one that will only increase because of economic recovery.
While Noguera is perfectly justified in highlighting the problems created by traffic, his response to the Council of Majorca has seemingly avoided any real detail regarding the practicalities of the planned changes and the potential for traffic chaos about which the Council has expressed its concern.