Buses to protect pedestrians against terror attacks in Palma. | P. Pellicer

TW
1

Buses are being used to protect people from terror attacks during periods of the day when the Paseo Marítimo is closed to traffic.

The high concentration of people during the designated time slots for walking or playing sports, especially in the afternoons and at weekends alerted Local Police to the risk of an attack similar to the one in Las Ramblas in Barcelona.

An anti-terrorist alert has been in place since 2015 and despite the coronavirus State of Emergency, the Interior Ministry has kept it level at 4, which is high risk.

Congested areas of Palma such as, Plaça d'Espanya, Carrer de Sant Miquel, Carrer dels Oms, La Rambla and Parc de les Estacions have been protected from the possibility of a vehicle attack with concrete blocks, pots and other obstacles.

But installing those types of barriers in the Paseo Marítimo is more complicated because of their weight and the need to remove them several times every day, so large buses will be used instead to guarantee that vehicles cannot pass.

The first experiment took place on Thursday at 1900 with one bus placed at Porto Pí, another in Carrer de Monsenyor Palmer and a third next to the Avingudas petrol station.

The initiative may extended to other pedestrianised streets.