Agreement reached to reorganise construction work dates on Palma's seafront promenade to meet residents' and business owners' demands
24/11/2023The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) and Palma City Council have reached an agreement with local groups who have been affected by Palma's promenade remodelling works to reschedule construction work dates to fall in line with residents' and business owners' demands. The most important change involves the relocation of the urban waste containers to the seaward side of the promenade. The different stakeholders received information at a meeting held this morning in the port of Palma. The president, Javier Sanz, was in attendance as well as the councillor for Urban Planning, Housing and Projects, Óscar Fidalgo, to announce how the works are progressing on schedule and that they will be completed at the beginning of 2025. Javier Sanz explained that an agreement has been reached to move the six banks of underground waste collection containers to the opposite side of the promenade. This decision came following requests from business and neighbourhood associations, who have agreed to do so to avoid any inconvenience to customers and passers-by on the land side of the promenade. Sanz defended this decision based on the APB's initial commitment to this project, which was launched with an innovative approach to stakeholder relations. Javier Sanz added, “We have three clear objectives in this strategy: to engage them in the project, to provide them with the appropriate information at each stage and to welcome and respond to their concerns and needs.” Stakeholders connected with Palma's Nou Passeig Marítim (New Promenade) project were selected according to the main sectors involved, which include residential, commerce, tourism, business and Palma's general public. As such, the main associations involved are ACOIPAM, CAEB, CAEB Restauración, ABONE, Federación de Asociaciones de vecinos de Palma (Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of Palma), FEBT, Asociación de Vecinos del Paseo Marítimo (Association of Neighbours of the Promenade), ASHPAMA, AFEDECO, PIMECO, FEHM, AMTAT, AEVAB, PIMEM and APEAM. Previously completed work A major achievement over the first few months, and the least visible, is that 75% of the project's most costly installations have already been completed. These are EMAYA's main sewer mains and sewage and rainwater discharge networks. The Urban Planning Councillor, Óscar Fidalgo, thanked the municipal water company for its “diligence”. “We have stuck rigidly to the premise of listening to our neighbours in order to improve their lives,” he added. The APB covered the cost of private connections to the rainwater and sewage networks for shopkeepers, neighbours and hoteliers who have asked us to do so. Furthermore, this meeting announced that the first phase of the construction work is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2024, to avoid disruption during the Easter holidays and the start of the tourist season. At present, the pavements on the land side of the road are being laid in sections and based on each shop's requests for dates to avoid disrupting their business activities and to fit in with their closing and staff holiday schedules. A consensus has also been reached with shopkeepers on the type of sunshades and partitions for new terraces. In the coming weeks, the remaining furniture, such as chairs and tables, will be chosen to create a uniform style for the entire promenade. Finally, many requests for review and adaptation of terraces by shopkeepers and hoteliers have been dealt with, given the new distribution of terrace space by three square metre blocks. For more information, visit: noupasseigmaritimdepalma.portsdebalears.com
