The Parliament of Catalonia has approved a resolution for the Government to study an alternative for the location of the works area of ??the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) in the Joan Miró park. The resolution, proposed by En Comú Podem and approved this Wednesday by the Territory Commission, urges the Government to stop the felling of trees in the area and to establish a process of dialogue with the residents and the Barcelona City Council to seek alternatives.
The connection of FGC’s Vallès and Llobregat-Anoia lines, also known as the extension of L8, involves the drilling of four kilometers of tunnel under the ground in Barcelona. The works, which will begin this summer, plan to locate the different facilities necessary for the operation in the Joan Miró park.
According to the resolution, 178 trees would be uprooted and only 41 of them would be replanted. Thus, it would mean a loss of 76% of the trees in the area. It is estimated that the work area would occupy about a third of the park, where the offices of the construction and administration personnel, the material warehouse or the area for stacking earth extracted by the tunnel boring machine would be located.
The parliamentary group of En Comú Podem affirms that the felling of trees is a decision “typical of the last century”. In this line, they defend that “in the context of the current climate emergency, with the increase in temperatures and heat waves, it is essential to preserve, maintain and expand the green areas with shade to have climate shelters and reduce the increase in the temperature in the cities”.
At the end of March, the Urban Planning Commission of the Barcelona City Council approved preserving the Joan Miró park from the expansion works, asking the Generalitat to avoid felling trees and continuing the dialogue to “find the best alternative” by listening to the neighbors and providing them with information.
In the same way, residents of the area demonstrated on May 3 against the effects that the park will suffer due to the works. The protest was called by the Esquerra de l’Eixample Neighborhood Association, the Eixample Respira platform, Camí Amic, Jardins Emma and the AMPAs of the Joan Miró and Ernest Lluch Schools.
The Generalitat de Catalunya awarded yesterday, for a value of about 300 million euros, the extension of the L8 of FGC. The operation will include the construction of a four-kilometre tunnel and the three new stations (Hospital Clínic, Francesc Macià and Gràcia), as well as the reform of the halls of Plaza Espanya and Gràcia. The works will have an execution period of four years and ten months, so they should end in 2028.
