Traffic restrictions return to Formentor fifteen days earlier to curb saturation
Access to the peninsula will be limited until October 18th due to the increase in visitors and the collapses recorded in recent years
PollençaToday, Friday, May 15, access restrictions to the Formentor peninsula have come into effect, a measure that this year has been brought forward by fifteen days compared to previous seasons. The limitations will remain in place until October 18, every day between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., with the aim of reducing traffic jams and adapting to the increase in visitors already registered during the month of May.
The decision was agreed last December at a meeting between the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT), the Pollença Town Council, the Government Delegation, and the Consell de Mallorca. The Pollença council had requested to bring forward the start of the restrictions due to the growing tourist pressure and the overcrowding of vehicles experienced each season in the Formentor area.
The delegate councilor and first deputy mayor of Pollença, Joana Aina Campomar, has assured that the Town Council “insisted a lot” for the limitations to start earlier. “We were asking for them to start from May 1, but it was not possible. We have finally managed to get them to start on the 15th, when before it was June 1,” she explained. According to Campomar, the extension will also allow the operation to be extended until October 18.
The councilor acknowledged that the restrictions are not to everyone's liking, but considers them necessary given the situation experienced each summer on the peninsula. “We are all aware that we would like to live without restrictions in Formentor as we did a few years ago,” she stated. Nevertheless, she pointed out that in April “there have been incidents, especially in the area of the lighthouse road, with traffic jams of stopped people and circulation problems”.
The limitations affect two sections of the Formentor road. The first extends from Port de Pollença to the beach, while the second goes from the beach to the lighthouse. During restricted hours, only authorized vehicles, public transport, emergency services, bicycles, and pedestrians will be allowed to circulate.
Regarding access to Formentor beach, private vehicles will be able to reach the parking lot without prior authorization as long as there are available spaces. When the parking lot is full, the barrier located on the road from Port de Pollença will be closed, and only authorized vehicles will be allowed access.
In the stretch between the beach and the lighthouse, only accredited vehicles will be able to circulate, including the TIB shuttle bus.
Campomar has also positively valued the increase in TIB frequencies, although it considers that the service continues to be insufficient during the months of maximum influx. “Public transport is needed solely between Pollença and Formentor, because the only one available comes from Alcudia and almost always arrives full in Pollença”, he lamented.