The parking project on Abel Matutes boulevard threatens one of Ibiza's main urban green spaces
The organization warns that the project would involve the felling of a hundred mature trees and the transformation of a space that currently acts as a "climate refuge"
PalmaThe environmental organization Amics de la Terra Eivissa has expressed this Monday its “firm rejection” of the project to build a large car park on Abel Matutes boulevard, in the city of Ibiza, because it considers that it would mean the destruction of one of the main urban green spaces in the area.
In a statement, the organization warns that the project would involve the felling of a hundred mature trees and the transformation of a space that currently acts as a “climate refuge” into a cemented infrastructure. According to the collective, this action would reduce urban biodiversity and the thermal comfort of the neighborhood in a context marked by the climate emergency and the increase in extreme temperatures.
Amics de la Terra argues that the creation of new parking spaces should not be done “at the expense of green spaces”, especially when urban alternatives exist. The entity recalls that trees play a key role in regulating urban temperature, improving air quality, and creating ecological corridors, in addition to the benefits they have on the physical and mental health of the population.
The environmental collective also appeals to sustainable urban planning criteria and cites international standards such as the “3-30-300” rule promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO), which recommends increasing the presence of vegetation in urban environments.
According to Amics de la Terra, the reduction of green areas can directly affect the quality of life in the neighborhood, the spaces for neighborhood coexistence, and the capacity for adaptation to extreme heat episodes. Therefore, the organization considers that urban climate refuges “must be reinforced and expanded, not eliminated”.
The project for the new La Real car park, promoted by the Ibiza City Council, foresees the construction of a parking lot with 749 spaces between Abel Matutes boulevard and the E-10 ring road, with an estimated cost of 26 million euros. The initiative has already provoked the rejection of a part of the neighborhood and of various social and political groups, which has forced the council to announce a review of the preliminary project.
