The government of Mayor Jaume Collboni is fully determined to make the care of public space one of the great flags of his mandate. The Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning, the socialist Laia Bonet, detailed this Friday that Barcelona City Council plans to carry out around 2,800 interventions during this term dedicated to the maintenance and renovation of the corners of the city that we all share. The City Council’s investment will total 435 million euros by 2028. This year some 45 million will fall, and the highest peaks will arrive in 2025 and 2026. This comprehensive maintenance plan (PMI) is one of the fundamental legs of the Endreça plan.
Apparently, the City Council had not even come close to these expenses since the times of the previous socialist mayor, Jordi Hereu. Deputy Mayor Bonet stressed that the allocations in this regard during the governments of Xavier Trias and Ada Colau were much lower. And Bonet also pointed out, without going into many details, that during the last few months, neighborhood complaints regarding the cleanliness of the city were reduced by 23%. The first deputy mayor wore the corresponding medal while she also clarified that contract changes in this service always entail a few initial imbalances that usually bother citizens.
This determination of the socialist executive contributes so much that Mayor Collboni himself is quite sure that neglecting even the slightest attention to the streets and squares entails political erosion that is sometimes disproportionate, and that the new Catalan political scenario will further delay the signing. of any government pact that expands the meager base of just ten councilors of the municipal executive. Under the current circumstances, the opposition will be very cautious about providing any support. Furthermore, let no one be fooled, Collboni operates very comfortably in contexts that many other politicians would find extremely uncomfortable.
The deputy mayor also wanted to emphasize that these 2,800 actions will take place in the 73 neighborhoods of Barcelona. And she added that of the 435 million expected investment, the districts will manage around 180 in order to adapt the plan to the particularities of each side of the city “and offer proximity solutions.” In this sense, the premise of municipal actions will be to renew the elements before it is really necessary, before they deteriorate.
The actions include stabilizing slopes, optimizing children’s play areas, redeveloping streets and squares, paving roads of the main road network, burying overhead cables, fixing more than 3,500 streetlights and 4,500 traffic lights, renovating the coastal front of the districts of Ciutat Vella and Sant Martí to make them look better during the Copal del América celebration and also repair railings, stairs, walls and furniture on the Colom, Joan de Borbó and Marítim promenades. In this great hodgepodge of investments, Bonet also included those aimed at improving the city’s groundwater distribution network. In addition, the PMI intends to improve and renew 12% of the city’s parks and gardens, intervene in 200 installations of children’s play areas, sports circuits and dog play areas, as well as renew 620,000 m2 of pavement, 35% of horizontal signage, 24% of escalators and 56% of elevators.