Users of the Soller road were once again surprised today, Thursday, by the kilometre-long traffic jams that formed at midday at the access to the Soller tunnel. Drivers were stuck in more than three kilometre jams apparently due to the unsettled weather which is conducive to attracting tourists to area.
From the roundabout at the turn-off to Bunyola, the jam extended to the entrance to the tunnel, a point where the traffic lightened when many vehicles opted to take the Coll de Soller over the mountain. The mountain road had more traffic than usual, with a greater presence of cars among the cyclists.
This summer Soller has been particularly affected by tourist overcrowding, sparking protests by local residents. Last July, residents of the locality of La Vall joined this wave of unease which is spreading among the general public who, without saying no to tourism, demand that this activity does not negatively affect their quality of life or their social and urban environment.
Before the start of the summer a series of measures were activated to try to remedy a problematic situation for the ‘sollerics’. Among the alternatives approved was to cut off traffic and divert it in the direction of Palma when the accesses to Soller and the Port become saturated. In the first case, if the queues reach the tunnel - still in the municipality of Bunyola - the Guardia Civil. will close the access to La Vall from the roundabout at the access to the tunnel, next to the Jardines de Alfabia. In this case, it is stipulated that the closure of the access to Soller would lead to the tunnel being closed for a period of around 30 minutes, to allow space to be freed up before reopening the infrastructure.