Deciphering Urban Traffic Patterns in Palma (Balearic Islands, Spain)

Abstract

The effective monitoring of urban traffic can be successfully achieved through the use of fixed sensors based on inductive loop detectors. These devices provide valuable information about the intensity of vehicles traversing a specific street in a particular direction. This kind of data affords a comprehensive understanding of the city’s mobility and traffic conditions. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the spatiotemporal patterns of vehicular mobility in the city of Palma. Palma, the focus of this study, is a Mediterranean city located on the island of Mallorca (Spain). Palma has an approximate population of 400,000 residents. The city’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism, with around five million tourists visiting annually. Spatiotemporal traffic dynamics were analyzed at six monitoring stations for the period 2003-2022 located in high, medium, and low-income residential areas. The results show a significant decrease in the total number of vehicles in all neighbourhoods. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly mobility patterns were examined, generally showing a substantial drop in the number of vehicles. Apparent causes behind this include the development of restrictive private vehicle mobility policies, the increase in bike lanes, the reduction in the number of lanes on main roads, and the delineation of no-traffic zones. These results allow for optimism for the future of vehicle traffic in Palma, in favour of a more sustainable city. Despite the decrease experienced in vehicle counts throughout the period analyzed for the selected sensors located in residential areas, the obtained results should be interpreted very cautiously, as this situation cannot be generalized to the rest of Palma’s areas. There is evidence that traffic on certain city roads as Vía de Cintura has significantly increased.