This Wednesday the mobility department of the Formentera Council convened the island's league of community representatives, the Consell d'Entitats, for an unveiling of the island's Pla de Mobilitat Sostenible, or “Sustainable Mobility Strategy”. Infrastructure and mobility secretary Rafael González, citizen participation secretary Sònia Cardona, and representatives of IDOM, the firm enlisted in the document's drafting, explained the exact details of the plan to the neighbourhood, land and environment sections of the Consell d'Entitats.
History
Mobility studies were commissioned by the Council in 2009 and 2017 as part of an effort to generate an analysis of mobility on Formentera. Surveyers had conversations with residents, tourists and other visitors to the island and kept tallies of pedestrians, cyclists, individual vehicles, rental cars and public transport.
Wednesday April 11, when the Consell d'Entitats held an initial participatory session to create a draft plan, attendees got an overview of the data collected and crunched in an effort to define the fundamentals of sustainable mobility on Formentera.
Sustainable Mobility Plan
The result —a targetted action plan— was unveiled last night before members of the Consell d'Entitats. Subsequently the plan will be submitted for preliminary review at the island's July plenary.
Review of the studies gave rise to 12 guiding principles, 34 programmes and 145 proposals requiring further development. Of particular note are the clear steps proposed for public transport upgrades.
After preliminary review, stakeholders will have one month to present comments and objections. Information from yesterday's meeting will be posted to the Council's transparency portal.
The secretary, who described the plan as “crucial, said that while tranquility is at the core of the Formentera experience, but "we're not there yet on mobility". “This strategy gives us a clear path forward in becoming an island that is practical, safe, clean and peaceful”.