The Formentera Council's Office of Mobility has taken the first steps towards creating a sustainable mobility strategy for Formentera. The coming weeks will see the start of a process to solicit bids to execute the plan.

According to infrastructure chief Rafael Gonzalez, the strategic document will define the underpinnings and action necessary for an island where transport methods are more sustainable. Gonzalez indicated the Council would push public transport, cycling and electric vehicles and encourage Formentera's car owners to be sensible about how often they decide to drive.

The current procurement contract for public transport on Formentera expires on December 31, 2018. The sustainable mobility plan will serve as a starting off point for overhauling the service when it is next tendered. The plan will receive roughly €70,000 in financial backing and the Council has five months to produce a draft. The initiative will be brought before Formentera's league of local associations (Consell d'Entitats) to engage the community in the plan's creation.

The Formentera Council Office of Mobility is issuing a reminder to islanders that passes for la Savina's “regulated” street parking must be renewed annually. Department head Rafael González referred drivers to the receipt they got on renewing their pass last time. The current system replaces one which required pass-holders to demonstrate authorisation with a windscreen decal bearing an expiry date. Councillor González said the majority of passes were delivered in February and March.

Anyone wishing to renew his or her annual pass can do so in person at the Citizen Information Office (OAC) or via the office's online platform, OVAC. Last year the Council granted 4,400 individuals and businesses passes, which must be renewed one year after the date of issue.

Hours
According to the councillor, the winter timetable will be in effect through May 1. Under the present system, parking is metered Monday through Saturday from 9.00am to 2.00pm and Monday through Friday afternoons and evenings as well, from 4.00 to 8.00pm. On Sundays and bank holidays parking is free. In winter cars can be left in blue zone spaces up to three consecutive days. In summertime the limit is one day. Pass-holders can park in green zone spaces up to three days in winter. La Savina residents are given 15 days to park in the green zone, in both summer and winter. When the summer timetable comes into force in May, metered parking will be in effect from 9.00am to 9.00pm Monday through Friday.

The Office of Transport of the Formentera Council has announced that starting today, Tuesday November 1, winter hours take effect for metered parking in la Savina. Parking is regulated Monday through Saturday from 9.00am to 2.00pm and Monday through Friday 4.00 till 8.00pm. Free parking is applied Sundays and bank holidays. The current scheme will be enforced until May 1.

From today forward, vehicles can remain parked in blue zones up to three days in a row, whereas in summertime they are restricted to one. Authorised users can leave vehicles parked in green zones up to three days; for residents of la Savina, meanwhile, the limit —as in summer— is 15.

Glowing assessment
Transport councillor Rafael González gave a favourable review of the second summer that metered parking is used in la Savina. “We've had a functional parking system that has allowed locals and tourists alike to enjoy this part of the island,” said González, in a positive appraisal of the traction the system has gained locally. The councillor also celebrated timetable changes, pushed by the town's neighbourhood association, that mean three fewer hours of nighttime pay parking.

Revenues
Now in its second year, the scheme had netted the Formentera Council €180,000 in blue zone collections as of November 1. With expenditures for staff, materials, land and permits to contract harbour employees at €172,000, the service, says González, is self-sustaining.

In another note, from tomorrow the overspill parking lot located in la Savina across from Illes Pitiüses park will be closed.

Today, Thursday September 22, the Formentera Council's Office of Mobility organised a bike ride across the island's network of nature trails, the rutes verdes. After a 9.30am rendezvous at plaça de la Constitució, a forty-strong group of participants set out for Cala Saona prepared to put three of the 32 routes to the test. Rafael González fronted the event together with tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer, who jumped on the chance to celebrate the Council's tourist-appreciation day the most sustainable way possible, and sports councillor Jordi Vidal.

Dia del Turista
As Ferrer explained, the Office of Tourism had rescheduled its tourist day celebrations in a conscious effort to “highlight the importance of sustainability and ensure Formentera's visitors are on the same page when it comes to environmentally-friendly transport”. “We rescheduled our Dia del Turista plans in order to bring [European Mobility Week] into even sharper focus”.

This week was marked by a push to spread the word across local hotels and tourist lodgings about green activities like today's bike ride. At 11.00am, back from the morning jaunt, cyclists were met with a sampling of local products in the Sant Francesc square. The sustainable gathering was open to everyone on the island.