From Lluís Sitjar to a Parking Lot: Palma Plans 131 Parking Spaces – Relief or Relocation?

From the old stadium to urban space: 131 parking spaces, but at what cost?

On a cool morning a breeze blows across the vacant lot of the former Lluís Sitjar Palma plans sports, housing and more green — but is it enough?. On one side the horns of buses, from Ramón Picó y Campamar street the steady roll of cars, on the other joggers still making their rounds. In this mix of calm and traffic, the city of Palma plans to create 131 parking spaces here — plus a strip of green, a sports hall and rooms for care facilities. It sounds like pragmatic use. But: what exactly is the plan behind the lines on the paper?

The central question: relief or relocation?

The city speaks of improved accessibility and less pressure on existing parking areas. Yet the core question remains: will 131 parking spaces sustainably ease the parking shortage — or will they simply shift the problem to this neighborhood and generate more traffic? The draft foresees planting about a quarter of the roughly 30,000 square meters as green space and 'docking' it to the planned city forest of the former Tirador velodrome. That is a positive element. Similar trade-offs between green space and parking appear in other redevelopments, for example Rethinking Portixol: More Green, Fewer Parking Spaces — But at What Cost?. But planting trees alone will not stop cars.

What is often missing on paper

In plans like this details are often left out: How many of the new parking spaces will be public, how many reserved for clinics, residents or visitors? Will they be paid, time-limited or permanently free? Parking that is free and easily accessible creates incentives to drive — exactly the opposite of compatible, sustainable urban development. The debate over balancing plazas and parking garages in waterfront projects is illustrative, as discussed in Plaza, Parking Garage and More Green for Palma's Waterfront.

Sealed surfaces also play a role. Asphalt without permeable layers increases surface temperatures and rain runoff. That can have locally noticeable consequences during summer heat waves and heavy rain. The small afforestation looks good in renderings, but it only becomes climate-appropriate if materials, tree species and irrigation are chosen cleverly.

Neighborhood between hope and fear

On a walk I meet an elderly woman at the bus stop who would like more visitor parking for the nearby clinic. A young father expresses concern about more traffic and noise. Such voices meet in the middle: pragmatic needs versus the living experience of a residential area. Public hearings are planned — they must be more than mere information events. Otherwise it remains a top-down decision.

Concrete risks — and how to address them

The risks can be named: increased traffic flows, possible displacement of quiet residential streets, heat island formation and unclear usage categories. There are concrete counterproposals:

1. Permeable surfaces instead of pure sealing: gravel, grass grids or special paving reduce runoff and heat. That saves future costs and creates a cooler microclimate. See also EPA green infrastructure for guidance on sustainable surface materials.

2. Parking policy: Partly paid or time-limited parking zones, resident permits and reservations for clinic staff can eliminate perverse incentives.

3. E-charging infrastructure & car sharing: Spaces for electric vehicles, charging stations and reserved areas for car sharing reduce emissions and space demand in the long term.

4. Smart integration of bicycle and pedestrian paths: protected lanes, safe crossings and direct routes to tram/bus stops often make the car redundant.

5. Green connection to the Tirador forest: The planned link to the city forest is both an opportunity and an obligation: wider rows of trees, native species and drought-resistant planting create real added value.

Process and transparency

A key point is the process: the city has fully taken over the site and initiated the change to the development plan (PGOU). That opens the door to repurposing — and to UN-Habitat on participation. It will be decisive how early and how seriously residents, clinic operators, cycling associations and environmental experts are involved. An iterative process with metrics (noise, traffic, usage) and a pilot phase would reduce risks.

Outlook: a possible pilot project — if there is will

If the Lluís Sitjar becomes just a big parking lot, that is a missed opportunity. But if it is conceived as a multifunctional, climate-resilient urban space — combining parking and green use, mobility offers and social infrastructure — the project can show how Palma pragmatically handles scarce land. An ambitious small experiment: fewer cars, but better accessibility; trees that provide shade; spaces that will not be repurposed again after two years.

The city administration has started the formal process. What matters now is the design: not just lines on a plan, but clear rules, transparent participation and technical requirements for climate resilience and mobility.