Municipalities in the Tramuntana Mountains want to put an end to noise pollution from vehicles in their urban centres.
The main issue for these municipalities is the excessive noise of certain vehicles, such as buggies, motorbikes, cars with souped-up engines. Regular vehicles are a fact of life, but the villages have been blighted by, for instance, convoy excursions of high-performance buggies. Over the past couple of years, the mayor of Deia, Lluis Apesteguia, has been particularly vocal in highlighting traffic and noise problems.
Town halls and residents have been complaining about noise on the mountains' main roads for years. The municipalities themselves are unable to do anything about this; it is up to the traffic directorate and the Council of Mallorca. But roads within urban centres are a different matter.
The 'mancomunitat' (literally commonwealth) of town halls in the Tramuntana has proposed ordinance to regulate noise in a standard way in the various municipalities.
In June, the proposal for a noise regulation ordinance was sent to the different town halls. Some have already approved it. Estellencs is one. The mayor, Bernat Isern, who is also the president of the mancomunitat, points out that the town halls only have the power to regulate within urban centres but that the ordinance will allow them to stop the noise.
Banyalbufar, Deia, Escorca, Esporles and Puigpunyent have also approved the ordinance. Others, such as Fornalutx and Soller, are in the process of studying it.
Isern explains: "By having a joint ordinance, this will also allow us to act in a unified manner by, for instance, pooling a sound level measurement service that will help our police officers in carrying out the relevant controls. The objective is to reduce but preferably prevent the damage caused to human health and the environment."
Police forces will be in charge of monitoring compliance with the permitted noise parameters. The recruitment of people to accompany officers and carry out the measurements is being considered.
The ordinance has a range of fines. These start at 600 euros but can be as high as 300,000 euros.