Recent tradition has come to dictate that once the restrictions on the Formentor road end, we must be informed about the numbers of vehicles that were on the road during the period of restrictions - 122 days from June 1 to September 30. The total number was 244,813, of which 34,744 were for the stretch from Formentor beach to the lighthouse.
These figures don't really tell us a great deal. Of the 34,744 on the stretch that is prohibited to most vehicles between 10am and 10.30pm, how many were, for example, workers' or residents' cars or travelled at times such as from 8am to 10am? And do 'vehicles' include bicycles? These aren't banned. The figures won't truly tell us much until such a time as there are data that will supposedly provide an 'objective' appraisal of the road's carrying capacity. The government has wished to avoid decision-making based on perception, and so one of its working parties for the social and political pact for sustainability is charged with analysing land transport. It is the government which has stressed the need for objective data.
Another recent tradition is that as soon as the restrictions are lifted, there are long queues of traffic. And so there were on the first of October. The return of congestion can so obviously be predicted that the rejection of a longer period of traffic restrictions by the traffic directorate makes little sense. Pollensa Town Hall had called for the restrictions to be extended this year. The town hall, which has no authority for the road, was ignored.
There are clearly that many more visitors from June to September, but this certainly doesn't preclude the potential for jams and sheer chaos in other months. There has been ample evidence of this, and in one respect there is the possibility of greater use of the road than in the summer because of the weather. Formentor has a similar issue to Soller in this regard, the big difference being that there is no urban centre, while there is only the one road.
The reason for the restrictions is partly on environmental grounds, but these don't only apply to four months of the year. Objective data or not, there is a strong argument for restrictions from April (perhaps even March) to October. We'll see what they come up with next year. Or don't.