Compulsory permits for drivers in Formentera
Friday, February 9, 2018 @ 9:57 AM
VISITORS to the smallest of the Balearic Islands who want to take their cars or motorbikes will have to apply for a permit from the regional government from summer 2019.
In a bid to reduce the pressure of tourism, driving straight off the ferry when arriving in Formentera will no longer be possible in 18 months' time unless the car-owner obtains prior permission.
During high season, Formentera has around 47,000 de facto residents – including year-round dwellers, holidaymakers, holiday home owners, and those working in the tourism industry who leave the island at the end of summer.
Effectively, the population quadruples for three or four months of the year, upping the number of cars on the island to over 30,000.
The highway network is only 38,500 metres long, meaning that if everyone went out driving at once, each car would only have 78 centimetres (31 inches) of road.
Given this clearly unsustainable situation, authorities are almost unanimous in considering that action has to be taken.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com