Arenal: Residents Gather Signatures Against Trash, Potholes, and Decay

Angry, tired and ready to act: This is how residents of El Arenal describe their situation

Last week I stood early in the morning on the Avinguda de Playa de Palma, the wind smelled of old waste. Overflowing trash bins, bundles of paper on the sidewalk, and a manhole cover missing for months – for many here this is no temporary annoyance, but everyday life.

The campaign has a face

Within three weeks neighbors have collected about 500 signatures. They are to be handed over to the Llucmajor town hall. The demands are simple: clean streets, repaired sidewalks, functioning trash bins, intact traffic signs, and more presence from enforcement services.

A resident living at the corner of Carrer dels Pins told me on the phone that she does not demand the impossible: We pay taxes. We simply want our street not to look like a backstreet.

More than just trash: infrastructure and safety

The critique is not directed only at the garbage collection. Many mention broken sidewalks, crumbling building façades, and potholes in side streets. In the evenings some residents feel unsafe because defective streetlights create dark corners. Others speak of odors from blocked drains in side streets.

Locally, business owners talk about revenue losses: guests stay away because first impressions matter. A cafe that smells of sewage in the morning is not recommended, laughs a nearby operator near the beach – showing how much quality of life and the economy are linked.

Old problems, new anger

El Arenal has a long history: once a hippie scene, then a tourist influx, and finally dense development. Many say the city's structure has changed, but responsibility has never been properly distributed. Socially difficult situations and increased crime are also mentioned, without residents seeing an easy solution.

The signature collection is meant to build pressure. Instead of grand words, the signatories want tangible actions: regular emptying of containers, quick repairs of sidewalks, more trash bins at tourist entrances, and consistent enforcement of littering by passersby.

What needs to happen now

The municipality still has time to respond. Residents are already planning a date to hand over the lists. It's not about show, emphasizes a spokesperson for the initiative: We don't want headlines, we want clean streets and respect for our home.

If you walk through Arenal, you don't just see tourists with sun hats – you also see people who live here, work here and worry. Whether administration, landlords or visitors, a little attention would be enough to make a big difference.

I'll stay on it and report as soon as the signatures are handed over or first reactions from the municipality come.