Menorca vehicle access plan heads to council vote
The Consell Insular de Menorca, the Island Council of Menorca, is due to debate a proposed change to the Menorca Biosphere Reserve Law at a plenary session next Monday. The reform would give the council a legal framework to limit the entry and stay of motor vehicles on Menorca.
Under the proposal, the plenary could set a maximum number of vehicles affected by the restrictions and specify when they would apply. Those decisions could be taken every year or every two years and would have to be supported by a justified study of the island's capacity to absorb motor traffic, including environmental and land-use considerations.
Exemptions and rental-car permits
Vehicles owned by people registered as residents of Menorca would be excluded from the restrictions. Non-resident owners of a home on the island could have one vehicle for each property.
Exemptions would also cover vehicles needed for professional travel, transport for people with reduced mobility, official and public-service vehicles, emergency services, public and school transport, taxis, freight and delivery vehicles, and industrial, livestock and agricultural machinery and vehicles. The plenary could set the number of permits for self-drive rental cars and allocate them among operators.
Ferry operators could be required to share data
The proposed system would allow quotas based on vehicle type and technical features, with preference possible for electric or non-polluting vehicles. Vehicle age could also be considered, while rental firms would face information-sharing and co-operation requirements.
Shipping companies and intermediaries would be required to help the council monitor vehicle arrivals. They could be asked to submit registration numbers and information on vehicles entering and leaving Menorca, and the reform would allow a charge to be introduced for entry or stay authorisations.
The law would establish the overall framework, with a later regulation setting out procedures and operation. The plenary would then decide the applicable periods, vehicle limits and quotas.
More on this topic: Traffic on Mallorca
Topics: Housing · Traffic · Politics
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com