The spokesperson for the far-right Vox parliamentary group, Manuela Cañadas, has warned of the ‘chaos’ caused by traffic jams on the roads of the Balearics, especially on the access roads to Palma. She made this statement on Wednesday at a press conference prior to the Spokespersons’ Committee meeting, during which she said she regretted that the president of the regional government, Marga Prohens, did not give her a specific answer in parliament when she asked about the need to invest in infrastructure.
Cañadas stressed the need to ‘force’ the central government to invest in infrastructure in the Balearics and to commit to coordination between institutions. All of this, she said, would serve to ‘alleviate’ traffic jams, mainly in Palma, which he said was unrelated to the arrival of tourists in high season.
‘A study certifies that 80 per cent of traffic jams involve residents’ cars, she pointed out. An ambitious infrastructure plan, he argued, would help to avoid a ‘feeling of saturation throughout the year, because it is not only when the tourists come’.
‘We have to think in the medium and long term, and not always make short-term policies and settle for winning elections. We cannot live with 20th-century infrastructure in the 21st century, especially with the population growth we are expecting,’ she said.
Solving the “chaos” that exists “on all the roads” and that “makes it impossible to get anywhere on time,” said Cañadas, would require not only widening lanes but also creating new connections between municipalities.