Alex Trelinski
BUSINESSES in Palma’s Paseo Maritimo area- which is undergoing a major conversion to a boulevard- say they are struggling to survive as people are not shopping or dining there due to the disruption.
Some bars and restaurants may even close their doors on a temporary basis and some claim that that taxis are also avoiding the area because of traffic jams.
The project to complete a massive remodelling of the Paseo into a large pedestrian boulevard is scheduled to be completed by November 2024.
Work started last November, with over 600 car parking places eliminated over the last few months.
President of the Association of Merchants of the Paseo Marítimo, Manuel Jiminez, said: “We are considering asking for compensation to make up for the loss of profits but it is still too early to say which our of members will need the money.”
“We are trying to save as many companies as possible and get them the aid that they have to process, but they have to contact our team of lawyers,” he added.
Jimenez also warned that he had heard about taxi drivers not wanting to operate in the area due to all of the disruption.
Toni Bauza, president of the Business Association of Auto-Taxi and Auto-tourism of the Balearic Islands, said that ‘if there is a customer who calls us to the Paseo Marítimo, then of course we will respond.”
He admitted though that members would choose other areas to attract customers to avoid traffic jams,
Gabriel Moragues, president of the Association of Autonomous Taxi in Mallorca, denied that taxi drivers are staying clear of the Paseo Maritimo.
“Some may avoid the area because of delays, but right now I don’t believe there are traffic jams that are so big that we don’t provide a service.”
