Late-night racing on Avinguda Mèxic: residents demand quiet

Too fast, too loud, too often: nerves in Nou Llevant are frayed

For weeks residents of the Nou Llevant neighborhood in Palma have been reporting nightly car races on the Avinguda Mèxic. According to reports, cars roar down the main road just after midnight, often well over 150 km/h. Traffic lights are ignored, exhausts roar, and residents who have to get up early for work or have small children are tired and frightened.

A petition as a wake-up call

About 500 people from the neighborhood have sent a petition to the mayor — more safety is urgently needed, they say. Practical measures are being demanded: raised speed cushions, mobile speed checks, regular police patrols and better lighting at intersections. Many stress that they are not against cars, they simply don't want a thoroughfare to turn into a racetrack any longer.

What does everyday life feel like?

You can hear the scene on an evening walk: parents putting children to bed shortly before 10 pm, quickly closing the back door because 'there's that engine noise again'. An elderly neighbor from Carrer del Pintor reported that she often wakes from sleep because a car with a revving engine passes by. The issue was also hotly debated at the Saturday market: 'If an accident happens here, it will be too late,' several visitors said.

What the authorities could do

Legally the matter is clear: speeding violations and endangering road safety are criminal offenses. But practical implementation — permanently visible controls, fixed speed cameras on Avinguda Mèxic or even structural measures — takes time and money. Some residents suggest temporarily closing the road to through traffic in the evening hours or installing bollards to calm the axis.

Others call for a clear signal from the city: more presence of the Guardia Civil or municipal police, visible checks on long weekends and on days when more vehicles are traditionally on the road. Also interesting is the proposal to work with neighborhood groups and legally collect private video recordings to better identify repeat offenders.

The tone of the neighborhood

The feeling in Nou Llevant is a mix of anger and fatigue. People don't want unnecessary hysteria, says a young mother, but they also don't want to wait until something bad happens. The petition is therefore less an ultimatum than a cry for help: visible measures that provide more safety day and night.

Whether the city will react quickly remains to be seen. One thing is certain: for many residents Avinguda Mèxic is long since no longer a safe living space — and they want to change that.