The Urban Guard of Barcelona has deployed a large police device this Sunday afternoon to prevent one of the usual afternoons with music from taking place on the viewpoint of the old anti-aircraft battery of Turó de la Rovira. About twenty agents have been deployed on the terraces to avoid one of the parties that caused a neighborhood demonstration on Friday.
On Gran Vista street, one of the main access roads to the bunkers, the police control access to the mountain and regulate traffic, not letting anyone who is not a resident through, unless there are free parking spaces, according to advanced Betevé. A common device in the summer months, but that they are applying now.
David Mar, a member of the neighborhood council, has explained in statements collected by this local channel that the police operation is due precisely to pressure from residents. “You cannot allow weekly parties to be organized here for a few to profit at the expense of the neighbours, the city and a heritage environment”, he pointed out.
Fran Bernal, from the Parque Mixto Turó de la Rovira neighborhood association, laments that “preventive measures are only effective if they are continued over time, and this is not the case.” Bernal adds that the fences and access controls “do not make sense because the perimeter is not complete and it will only move the problem from one hill to another.”
The residents ask that access to the area be limited to avoid crowds of tourists, normally attracted by tours that promise a sunset with music and alcohol. In fact, work is being done to close the venue at night. A 40-meter section of fence has already been installed in the sector facing the sea.
Six workers have been working on this work for a month, which will serve to prevent visitors from entering the bunkers. With this action, the City Council wants to control the large influx of visitors to preserve the rest of the neighborhood and stop the wear and tear of the archaeological remains in the area.
Neighbors denounce “noise at any time of the day, large bottles and dirt in the streets.” They ensure that calls for night parties are made through social networks that bring together a thousand participants on Sundays. In addition, they say that this whole situation causes the buses that arrive in the area to be full of people on many occasions, “exceeding even the capacity allowed by TMB.” Likewise, the conveners assure that all this implies that there are “physical and verbal attacks on the neighborhood and bus drivers by tourists.”
