Majorca police given new powers to tackle chaos on the Balearic Island
Majorca police have been granted new powers to tackle traffic chaos on the island, with parking restrictions and new car parks planned to alleviate congestion.
Police in Majorca have been granted new powers to address ongoing traffic chaos on the island, particularly on the heavily congested Palma-Puerto Soller main road.
This move comes as part of a recently finalised agreement between the Council of Mallorca and the Soller town hall aimed at reining in the traffic issues that have plagued the area for years.
The affected road, a section of the MA-11 known as 'desvío' (detour), previously fell under the jurisdiction of the Council of Mallorca, limiting the ability of local police to manage traffic and parking violations.
However, with the road's reclassification as an urban area, control will now shift to the Soller town hall, giving the local police expanded authority to enforce regulations and manage traffic flow more effectively.
The reclassification applies to the road segment between Can Repic and the L'Horta junction, a particularly troublesome stretch where irregular parking has contributed to significant congestion.
Under the new agreement, Soller Police will have the power to prevent illegal parking, a measure expected to greatly ease traffic flow in the area.
Josep Porcel, Soller's councillor for mobility, stressed that the reclassification will enable the town hall to implement a series of improvements, including the creation of a pedestrian lane on one side of the road.
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The immediate focus, however, will be on progressively prohibiting parking along the road.
To accommodate displaced vehicles, new car parks are being constructed, with the first set to open at Can Tinet by the end of this month. These car parks will be fee-based, and their use will be mandatory for drivers who previously parked on the road's hard shoulders.
Once the Council of Mallorca officially designates the new road category, physical barriers will be installed along certain sections to prevent parking and direct drivers to the designated parking areas.
By next summer, parking will be entirely prohibited along the entire stretch of the road.
