Traffic jams on the popular holiday island of Majorca are getting worse, Palma Police and the Guardia Civil have warned. This is especially the case for the access roads to the capital, Palma, including the Via de Cintura (Ma-20) ring road.
This has led to an increase in accidents. Now, a veteran officer from the Guardia Civil’s Tráfico division has said that there appears to be no indication of improvement in the near future. “On the contrary, there are more and more cars, and this means greater congestion of a road network that has become outdated. Without a swift and decisive response, this situation can only get worse.”
The officer has predicted that the summer of 2025 will see “record road congestion”, considering that tourism on the largest Balearic Island is expected to be even busier than last year.
2024 saw record-breaking tourist numbers in Majorca, with Palma de Mallorca Airport handling over 33 million passengers, a 7% increase from 2023, according to The Telegraph.
A Council of Mallorca study indicates that on the section of the Via Cintura by the Son Hugo sports centre there was a peak of 183,317 vehicles per day in 2023.
“It’s truly ridiculous. These roads can’t withstand such a heavy traffic load,” the officer added, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported. “It’s obvious that there will be jams in the morning and evening rush hours. That was a year and a half ago. The number has since increased by up to 6%.”
The current peak is estimated to be 200,000.
As a result of the increased congestion, the number of accidents is also on the rise. While most are rear-end collisions that usually result in minor damage, they contribute to yet more congestion.
“Previously when you saw long queues and traffic jams, you knew an accident had occurred. Now, in many cases, nothing at all has happened.”
The huge number of private vehicles have been highlighted as a major cause of concern. Unlike before, families of four or five can now have up to three or four cars. According to the Balearic Statistics Institute, there were 837,240 vehicles registered in Majorca in 2023. The number of cars was 584,042.
Relocation of residents has also contributed. People are now moving to municipalities such as Llucmajor, Marratxi and Santa Maria, partly due to unaffordable property prices in the capital. They then must travel to Palma by car. Added to this are the increasing numbers of cars brought to Majorca by foreign property owners and car-hire operators.
An officer at Palma Police HQ told the news site that phone apps for traffic conditions show the scale of the issue: “It’s easy to check daily on your phone that the Via Cintura is almost always red. The online map shows that it has collapsed.”