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The work on the extension of the L8 of the Generalitat de Catalunya Railways to join Plaza de Espanya and Gràcia must begin in summer.
They involve the drilling of four kilometers of tunnel, a work that will be carried out largely with a tunnel boring machine.
In order to carry out these works, it is planned to convert the Joan Miró park into the operations center for this entire operation. Neighbors report that 178 trees are going to be cut down.
It involves occupying about a third of the park to install the offices of the construction and administration personnel, as well as the material warehouse and also the area for stacking the earth that is extracted with the tunnel boring machine.
The neighbors have begun to protest because, although they are in favor of public transport, this should not be at the expense of the park in a district, Eixample, “with pollution levels above the legal limit,” as they recall.
Neighbors complain that “the works would have a high impact on noise, air pollution and health”, since they would affect the park “about two years”.
The work “involves losing the green area and the current recreational and sports uses of the park,” in addition to the repercussions on the library and educational centers in the area with the traffic of “more than 150 trucks a day,” according to the statement from the neighbors.
That is why in Joan Miró’s park you can see a series of posters that thank the trees for the important function they perform, as can be seen in these photographs in The Readers’ Photos of La vanguardia.
