The change of government has not meant, at least for the time being, an alteration in the plans to transform mobility in Barcelona. Jaume Collboni maintains his commitment to the construction of new bike lanes and the improvement of some of the existing ones, along the lines of what was done in recent years in the classic summer works, when it is used to drive complete urban planning work on the streets of the Catalan capital minimizing its effects, given that there is less mobility these weeks.
This summer there are scheduled works related to bike lanes on eight different streets, most of which have already started months ago. The most discussed project in this regard is that of Via Augusta, which just last week finished the works between Laforja and Ganduxer and these days it is making the final touches to the section up to Dolors Monserdà, already past Paseo de la Bonanova, which will enter in service in the middle of this same month.
The elimination of a car lane to create an uphill and a downhill bike lane on this avenue has revolted the drivers of the Vallès who use this road as an entrance and exit from the Catalan capital. Collboni committed last week, in his intervention at Foros de Vanguardia, to “reevaluate” the work with the technical teams and assess its impact on mobility to decide if it is necessary to introduce any changes, even though the government municipal officials are very aware that it was the most voted project in the district in the participatory budgets and that the elimination of a bike lane is more typical of a PP mayor than a socialist one in Spain right now.
“There is a very clear will not to stop anything, of course, everything continues as planned and the adjustments and nuances will be seen when it is in operation and we reevaluate it”, defends the new chief engineer, Oriol Altisench, who already knows very well what it is to fight (and win) in the defense of a project questioned by the opposition due to his previous role as coordinator of the project to connect the tram networks along the Diagonal to the public company Bimsa.
Despite the noise generated around the Via Augusta cycle lane, the most transformative work of all the planned is the one being carried out on the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, which descends onto the road one of the first cycle lanes of the city, painted at the time on the sidewalk. It is the best example of the policy that the last two councilors of Mobilitat socialistes (Rosa Alarcón and Laia Bonet) promoted during the last mandate, with the ultimate goal of reducing to zero the bike lanes in the space reserved exclusively for pedestrians When it becomes a reality, bikes will go along the sides in the corresponding direction of traffic, in some sections with a segregated bike lane and in others sharing space with local traffic. The works are already underway between Plaça Espanya and Carrer Mineria (at the height of La Campana), but the start of work from this point to Plaça Cerdà, a stretch of constant conflict in today between cyclists and pedestrians.
The summer program also aims to put an end to one of the greatest displays of indifference by Barcelona City Council towards its metropolitan environment. At the height of the Cervantes park, an area of ??land in poor condition has caused more than one cyclist to end up kissing the ground when entering the municipal area of ??the capital from the cycle path that crosses the roundabout from Above from Esplugues. Thus, the multi-award winning urban emblem promoted by the Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) will have continuity along Diagonal after five years of neglect by Barcelona.
There is also work underway on Passeig Maragall, a bike lane that includes sections adjacent to Carrer Freser and Rosselló, as well as Carrer Còrsega, between Freser and Castillejos. They will be added to the bike lane on Carrer Independència between Meridiana and Sant Antoni Maria Claret, open at the weekend. Finally, still without a clear date for the start of works, but throughout this summer, the construction of several sections of the bike lane on Carrer Mallorca and the bike lane of Passeig Marítim, between Avinguda Ramon Trias Fargas and Trelawny Street.
