The PP candidate for mayor of Barcelona, ??Daniel Sirera, maintains that the future tram on the Diagonal “is a very serious mistake”, not only because it divides the city in two, but also “because the impact on traffic will be savage, especially at the height of Balmes or Muntaner… The section between Francesc Macià and Besòs is unfeasible”. If it were up to him, rails outside and electric buses: “They are cheaper, faster and they would solve the problem without the nonsense they are doing.” Sirera participated this morning in the colloquiums that are being organized every week by Barcelona Oberta, the Gremi de Restauració and La Vanguardia with the mayors.
“The people who live above the Diagonal will not go down and those below will not go up; the tram will split the city in two”, insisted Sirera, who also believes that superblocks must be studied one by one to see which ones need to be modified or withdrawn. Of the one in Sant Antoni, which he considers to be working, he has criticized the lack of maintenance. With the rest it has been harder. “It cannot be that we change the medieval walls for other walls such as superblocks”, he opined when considering the difficulties faced by those who come from abroad to shop or work in accessing the city.
Responding to questions from Gabriel Jené and Salva Vendrell, presidents of Barcelona Oberta and the Gremi de Restauració, the popular candidate has proposed a reduction in the rate of terraces to match those of Madrid, “which in some cases are five times lower” , has stated. He has also defended that the hours of the restoration on the terraces can be extended, “especially on weekends”, and has placed it as the responsibility of the Urban Police that the schedules are complied with and inconvenience to the neighbors is avoided.
Sirera has labeled the “municipal will to confront neighbors with businesses and restaurateurs” as an error because he believes that these latter are neighbors on the ground floor and that they provide security on the streets. In relation to security, he maintains that 1,000 Urbana agents and 3,000 of the Mossos are missing in the Catalan capital and has accused the municipal government of “always siding” with the alleged criminal. “There is a certain tolerance that has to end,” she says.
In terms of tourism, it has been clear: “Barcelona will be touristy or it will not be” and has been in favor of not regulating the arrival of cruise passengers, “even if they are only in the city for a few hours, there are between 5,000 and 7,000 people who go down, buy, eat and they drink in Barcelona”. It does advocate offering alternatives to visit and use transport on demand. “We have to turn Barcelona into an attractive city, it cannot be that to see a musical we have to go to Madrid, the Paral·lel It’s dead, we have to revive it,” he said.
