Small businesses in Palma require large parking in the port to compete with large stores. In this way, the Federation of Commercial Entrepreneurs (AFEDECO) has expressed its position regarding the project to reorganize the port of the Balearic capital, establishing clear conditions to give your consent to the plan.
Firstly, the commercial sector employers emphasize that it is a priority to avoid the creation of new commercial developments in the port area, since “the port must integrate with the city without competing with it.”
AFEDECO emphasizes that Palma already has a large shopping center that offers a sufficient and varied offerso “any new commercial infrastructure in the port would be unnecessary and could represent a comparative aggravation to existing trade.” This is because the port is exempt from regional legislation in matters of opening on Sundays and holidayswhich would negatively affect local businesses.
For the employers’ association, the project represents a key opportunity to solve current problems and improve commercial life in the city center, always taking into account the interests of citizens and respecting the unique character of Palma.
One of its priority proposals is the construction of a large car park in the port areawhich would solve the parking deficit and would facilitate the connection of the port with the centerin addition to being strategically located near the Andratx and Llucmajor highways.
Another fundamental point is the burial of Gabriel Roca Avenue and Antoni Maura Avenue, a measure that, according to the association, would transform the connectivity between the port and the city, enhancing both tourist attraction and local commercial activity. This project would allow the creation of extensive pedestrian spaces, cycle paths and green areas that would improve the quality of life of citizens.
Regarding the use of the planned spaces, AFEDECO suggests the creation of a multipurpose axis in existing buildingswith areas intended for cultural, educational and conference events, complementing infrastructures such as the Auditorium and the Congress Palace. It also proposes the authorization of a coworking area and other community spaces such as a library or a youth space, which promote the social and economic life of the area.
Joana Manresapresident of afedeco, states that “these proposals that we put forward seek to ensure that the project not only favors the development of the port, but also the revitalization of local commerce and improvement of urban quality of Palma».
This past summer, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) began a round of contacts with representatives of the port community and other social, institutional and economic agents in order to obtain maximum consensus on the reorganization of the port of Palma.
In this participatory process they are collecting opinions and those specific requirements that are considered appropriate for the preparation of a new proposal that adapts to the needs and expectations of all interest groups and that prioritizes the general interest.
It is about defining uses, spaces and those port activities that are essential, in addition to guaranteeing the supply of the population in a reorganization of the port space that aims to be fully compatible with economic, environmental and social sustainability.
After the APB board of directors abandoned the reorganization proposal approved in 2020, the port of Palma now assumes the objective of push a new direction to guarantee maritime connectivity and the operation of the logistics chain of the Balearic Islands.
Among other initiatives, it is proposed redistribute industrial areas boat repair and rebuild the maritime façade of Palma, giving space to port-city integration projects that include initiatives such as creation of a municipal sailing schoolthe relocation of the building dedicated to the nautical-fishing FP or the development of an interactive museum that also houses the fish market and the fishermen’s brotherhood.
