Playa de Palma: Neighbors present 36-point plan for more cleanliness, green spaces and safety

Playa de Palma needs care — the neighbors get to work

In the late afternoon in front of the town hall, local groups handed over a long list: 36 very specific proposals for how Playa de Palma should become cleaner, greener and safer. The initiative, an alliance of neighborhood associations, parent groups, seniors' clubs, sports clubs and some unions, is calling for measures to adapt local life to strong population growth. Indeed: according to records, the population rose from 12,679 in 2000 to 25,821 in 2024.

Concrete proposals instead of empty promises

The list contains items people here discuss every other morning when walking their dog on Calle Goya or grabbing coffee on the Paseo: more parking spaces, a stronger police presence in the evenings, permanent teams for masonry and maintenance work throughout the year. Specifically, they want permanent gardeners because weeds and shrubs at corners and squares need to be removed more often. Also requested: a systematic cleaning schedule, more trash bins and additional containers for garden and green waste — simple measures that would help visibly.

Green spaces, sports and better meeting places

The initiative is not only focused on cleanliness. On the wish list are new green areas, sports facilities and the beautification of squares like Las Maravillas and Las Kelly so that residents and visitors will want to linger there again. They also mention a possible new rail connection toward Llucmajor — an idea locals have discussed for years because it could ease traffic and facilitate commuting.

Health, education and social infrastructure

Larger projects are also included: a permanent medical center, a day care center and a nursing home, the expansion of the Instituto de La Ribera, a youth center and a public library. The transformation of the Torrent des Jueus stream into the "green lung" of S'Arenal is also proposed — an attempt to make fallow land ecologically and socially usable.

Rules, enforcement and support for businesses

In addition, the alliance demands more benches in public spaces, grants for small shops, but also stricter controls: enforcement of closing times and alcohol sales rules in venues, a ban and tighter monitoring of unlicensed street vending, and tougher action against gambling fraud, prostitution and drug dealing — issues that concern many residents at night.

Some of these ideas sound like high-level politics, others are banal and immediately implementable. On the Paseo I saw an elderly woman in the morning who said a few more gardeners and clean curbs would already make a big difference — an everyday voice, not a call for glamour. Whether the city council will implement everything remains open; in any case, handing over the list was a clear signal: the neighborhood wants change. I will stay on it — after all, people here know every corner, and when the wind comes from the sea you quickly notice where work needs to be done.