News

Formentera takes island's first mobility action plan to local community

Friday, 06 July 2018 10:51

foto-pla-mobilitat-2018--2-1 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”.

Sant Ferran gears up for fibre optic

Thursday, 05 July 2018 19:03

instal--lacio---fibra-o--ptica1 The Formentera Council's department of new technologies reports that operations to equip the town of Sant Ferran with a fibre optic network began today.

With the service's rollout already a reality in Sant Francesc and surrounding neighbourhoods, crews are turning their attention to Sant Ferran. In roughly three months' time, area residents will be able to contract the service just like their neighbours in Sant Francesc.

In the installation operators are using piping that was prepared during roads upgrades this winter.

New technologies secretary Rafael González gave thanks to Telefónica for their efforts bringing fibre optic to Formentera.

Council extends partnership with hometown NGO

Wednesday, 04 July 2018 15:56

img 1436-1- Formentera Council president Jaume Ferrer sat down today with the head of the NGO Formenterers Solidaris, Maria Costa, to sign a €3,000 deal to support development cooperation in developing regions of the world and educational initiatives on the island in 2018.

The humanitarian group (formenterer is the Catalan term for a Formentera native; solidari roughly translates as “charitable”) is a non-profit built around outreach and social development initiatives in support of segments of society which have been dealt an uneven hand due to factors like income, age, sex or legal situation.

The Formentera Council and Formenterers Solidaris share a set of common causes, which, together with the administration's economic contribution, are enshrined in the present collaborative agreement. The assistance will cover:
-Creation and management of cooperation and development projects in developing countries.
-Organisation of talks, round tables, forums, exhibitions and conferences.
-Expenditures on equipment and materials for day-to-day operations.
-Fundraising drives and collections for underprivileged regions of the world.
-Administration of food donations from the Formentera Council.
-Initiatives in support of socially disadvantaged groups on the island.

Also on hand at the morning ceremony were social welfare chief Vanessa Parellada and Teresa Costa, secretary of Formenterers Solidaris.

Council contributes €24k for local seniors clubs

Thursday, 05 July 2018 13:17

img 1448-1- Today Formentera Council president Jaume Ferrer put his signature on partnership deals with the island's four retirees and pensioners clubs. The administration gives the clubs €24,000 annually, funding which is intended to cover maintenance and service upgrades as well as outreach, activities coordination at the community level and collaboration with other associations over the course of 2018.

For the Council's €9,000 deal with the retirees and pensioners club of Sant Francesc, Ferrer signed an agreement with club president Margarita Sanchís. Rita Costa, president of a similar “social and senior centre” in Sant Ferran, oversaw confirmation of her group's €6,500 funding package. Maria Costa, chief of the la Savina retirees and pensioners club, saw to signing her own group's €4,500 endowment into effect, while the administration's €4,000 contribution to the la Mola association for the elderly was formalised by Jaume Escandell, the association's president.

Newly formed crew of metre attendants patrols Formentera streets

Wednesday, 04 July 2018 12:54

img 1433-1- Formentera Council chief Jaume Ferrer and mobility secretary Rafael González introduced the team of individuals charged with overseeing metred parking in la Savina, Sant Francesc, Sant Ferran and es Pujols. The brigade —previously a three-person crew which, aside from a coordinator, recently took on eight new agents— will be stationed in la Mola on market days (Wednesday and Sunday evenings) and serve as a point of contact concerning rule changes in effect in es Cap de Barbaria.

The incoming attendants will spend the week in four separate training programmes —on interpersonal communication; municipal parking ordinances approved in last Friday's June plenary; the complexities of local law enforcement and the mechanics of the island's crane lorry; and the functioning of parking metres in designated “blue zones”.

Expanded metred parking system
Crews, who began installing new parking metres in Sant Ferran today, will proceed with similar operations in Sant Francesc and es Pujols. Secretary González said the equipment would be up and running in the first half of July.

When installation of the new metres is complete, drivers can park free of charge for up to 24 hours in the blue zones of Sant Francesc, Sant Ferran and es Pujols. Whether motorists are residents on the island or just visiting, they must obtain a ticket every day they park in one of the new metred areas. The pay-to-park system will start in August, with exceptions for residents and exempt vehicles (these drivers must still get a day ticket in order to park).

Mobility department welcomes incoming deputy director
The secretary seized the opportunity to welcome his department's newest deputy director, Jesús Villar, whom he explained would provide support for key initiatives within the mobility office such as limits on vehicles entering the island, Formentera's first-ever sustainable mobility strategy and tender of public transport contracts.