Al voltant d'una trentena de vesins de Sant Francesc varen assistir ahir a la reunió organitzada pel Consell Insular en el Club del Jubilat per informar-los dels projectes que s'anaven a dur a terme en la localitat i recaptar les seues inquietuds i els seus suggeriments.

En primer lloc, des de la institució insular varen anunciar que les obres d'infraestructures previstes per a enguany a la zona per als vianants de Sant Francesc i que estava previst finançar amb fons Next Generation finalment no es podrien executar, ja que va haver-hi un error de l'anterior govern insular a l'hora de sol·licitar aquestes ajudes, per la qual cosa finalment no han obtingut el finançament necessari. Aquestes obres consistien en la conversió en zona de vianants de determinats carrers, fet que va provocar la disparitat d'opinions entre els veïns presents.

Davant aquesta situació, els representants del Consell varen proposar la instal·lació d'una bústia de suggeriments perquè els vesins aportassin el seu parer sobre aquestes conversions en zona de vianants.

De qualsevol forma, els consellers presents en la reunió varen anunciar que les ajudes que no s'han pogut obtenir enguany es tornaran a sol·licitar per a l'any 2024.

D'altra banda, la consellera de Mobilitat, Verónica Castelló, va explicar les novetats que s'inclouran en l'estacionament regulat, la coneguda com a zona blava, tant a Sant Francesc com a la resta de l'illa. Unes novetats que passen per ampliar de 15 a 30 minuts el temps que es pot estacionar en diverses zones pròximes a establiments, que el tiquet per als residents sempre serà de tres dies i que en els mesos d'hivern només hi haurà aparcament regulat a la Savina, per la qual cosa s'elimina a Sant Francesc i Sant Ferran.

Els vesins, per part seva, varen reclamar que s'exigeixi el compliment de la normativa en matèria de tancament de locals i de música a les terrasses, que es vigili que els cotxes es pugin a les voreres, que es compleixi la normativa que impedeix que en les zones per als vianants es pugui fer càrrega i descàrrega més enllà de les 10 hores i que es controli amb policies locals l'entrada i sortida dels col·legis.

També varen sol·licitar que es millori l'estat dels parcs i un pas de vianants elevat al costat de la ronda d'accés a la carretera de la Savina.

Es va acordar finalment que es repetiria aquest tipus de reunió amb els vesins bimensual o trimestralment.

El vicepresident tercer del Consell Insular de Formentera i conseller de la zona de la Mola, José Manuel Alcaraz, serà cada dilluns d'11 a 13 hores a l'Oficina d'Atenció Ciutadana d'aquesta localitat per atendre qualsevol vesí, empresari o entitat que vulgui plantejar qualsevol millora per al poble de la Mola.

El conseller ha indicat que aquesta mesura és fruit de les reunions mantingudes amb l'Associació de Veïns de la Mola, que també li va traslladar la importància de donar a conèixer que l'Oficina d'Atenció Ciutadana de la Mola obre cada dilluns de 9 a 14 hores perquè la gent d'aquesta localitat no hagi de desplaçar-se a Sant Francesc.

En aquesta oficina es poden tramitar tots els registres administratius que qualsevol persona pugui fer amb el Consell de Formentera. “Hem d'estar prop del ciutadà. No ens val dir que això es pot fer amb un certificat digital o des d'un ordinador des de qualsevol domicili, perquè hi ha persones que ni tenen certificat digital ni tenen ordinador i, a més, a la Mola hi ha molta gent gran, per la qual cosa aquesta oficina els dona un servei molt important”, ha assegurat José Manuel Alcaraz.

Així mateix, Alcaraz ha avançat que el Consell està estudiant la possibilitat d'implantar l’Oficina d’Atenció Ciutadana a Sant Ferran “i en pròximes dates segurament tendrem notícies positives sobre aquest tema”. “Que Sant Francesc, Sant Ferran i la Mola tenguin un servei d'atenció ciutadana és molt important per aproximar l’administració al ciutadà i que no sigui sempre el ciutadà el que s’hagi d'atracar a Sant Francesc.

El president de l'Associació de Veïns de la Mola, Miquel Costa, ha qualificat de “positiva” la iniciativa del Consell Insular. “A vegades es parla d'acostar l'administració a la gent, i més enllà de paraules cal fer accions en aquest sentit, i aquesta és una bona acció”, ha assenyalat.

Yesterday at 7.30pm members of local associations gathered for the second session of the Formentera Council of Entities (Consell d'Entitats) to determine the 2023 fees and enforcement period for formentera.eco, a project to regulate vehicles brought and driven on the island. Association representatives voted to extend the regulation period to 1 June to 30 September and raise associated fees to €6/day for cars (€30 minimum) and €3/day for motorcycles and scooters (€15 minimum) – double the rates in 2022.

Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, explained, "This second session served to set the fees and enforcement period for next summer, bringing us in line with the legislative goal of lowering the vehicle ceiling by 16% in four years". "However, we will continue to work locally on policies for increasingly sustainable mobility", she assured the president, "and in this, residents must be involved as well." She asserted, "Within government we will work to provide alternatives with quality public transport and road safety improvements for both motor vehicles and bicycles".

For his part, Rafael González, councillor of mobility, welcomed the extended regulation period "because it will allow us to better control the months of June and September where we have seen increases in incoming vehicles". As for the fee hike, the councillor insisted that a lengthened enforcement season and new minimum fees last year "brought very positive results", asserting that visitors were staying longer and the number of one-day visits had dropped. González expressed hope that with the changes approved by the Consell d'Entitats for summer 2023 "results will continue to improve".

Enforcement period
The decision taken yesterday by the Consell d'Entitats to extend enforcement and double formentera.eco fees will be taken to the January plenary session of the Consell de Formentera. The formentera.eco website will come online in the first half of February, making it possible for people to reserve their authorisation to drive during the regulation period. The fee increase must also receive initial backing from the plenary and undergo a period of public consultation. Definitive approval and entry in force of the change are therefore expected to occur between April and May. Pending entry into force, drivers seeking authorisation will continue to pay the fees approved in 2022: €3/day for cars (€15 minimum) and €1.5/day for motorcycles (€7.50 minimum).

Lastly, Vanessa Parellada, councillor of citizen participation and moderator of last night's Consell d'Entitats session, applauded the participation of the 28 groups that voted and underscored the fact that, "as always, they look to achieve a more sustainable mobility for our island".

Formentera.eco restrictions do not affect cars, motorcycles or other vehicles belonging to Formentera residents, though they must still obtain accreditation. Residents of the other islands in the region are also exempt from payment, but they must obtain accreditation to drive on the island during the months of regulation.

13 December 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Yesterday at 7.30pm, Formentera's league of associations convened to review and evaluate the results of formentera.eco, the scheme to regulate vehicles brought and driven on the island in 2022. Attendees of the gathering reviewed two proposals on the fees and start and end dates of the scheme in 2023. On Monday 12 December, the Consell d'Entitats will reconvene for a second session to review feedback from the island's associations and vote on proposals.

President Ana Juan explained that this was formentera.eco's fourth year and the third year in which the number of permits to drive vehicles on the island is reduced. Since the scheme launched the number of permits available has been lowered by 12%. Next year Formentera will reach legislators' goal of cutting the number of permits by 16% in four years. Juan emphasised the importance of "continued work on policies that seek social and environmental equilibrium and quality of life for our residents". The president added that the new contract for public transport "will mark a quantum leap forward in the service for tourists and islanders".

Weighing results
Rafael González, councillor of mobility, trumpeted the results of the scheme in 2022. "There has been a significant and perceptible drop in traffic", he said, pointing up an 8.5% decline since 2017, while insisting on the need to do more. Visitors' average stay is up from 3.5 days in 2021 to 5.4 days in 2022 and single-day visits are down: in 2021 they made up 40% of bookings, while this year they accounted for 27%. "Day-trippers are still constitute a considerable portion of our visitors", conceded the councillor, but he asserted that "the situation has improved, and we think that can be traced to last year's fee rise, which penalised short stays by creating minimum per-day fees of €15".

González also drew attention to impressive increases in cycling and cab-hailing, which are up 150% and 70%, respectively, since 2017. Bus ridership has also returned to pre-pandemic levels, he said. With all these data, the councillor argued that, as agreed at the start of the term, the ceiling on vehicles must continue to be lowered and one-day stays must continue to be penalised.

Discussing fees and enforcement period
To continue with the regulatory scheme, attendees reviewed two proposals which they will now relay to their associates. Vanessa Parellada, councillor of citizen participation and moderator of the gathering, said a vote would be held next week on the terms of formentera.eco in 2023.

Start and end dates
Option 1: extended regulatory period (1 June to 30 September).
Option 2: no change (15 June to 15 September).
Fees
Option 1: doubled fees from 15 July to 31 August, no change during rest of season (€6/day with €30 minimum for cars; €3/day with €15 minimum for motorcycles).
Option 2: doubled fees for entire regulatory period.

This last proposal was included at the request of associations. As a second option, the Consell proposed maintaining fees at the 2022 level during the entire regulatory period (€3/day with €15 minimum for cars; €1.50/day with €7.50 minimum for motorcycles). By request from the participants of the Consell d'Entitats, the second option was replaced by the option of doubling the fee for the entire regulatory period.

24 November 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera