The last month has been prolific in the start of works, premieres and announcements of new bike lanes in Barcelona. La Gran Via, Ramon Trias Fargas, Via Laietana, Santa Fe de New Mexico, Passeig Joan de Borbó... are some of the streets that are adding short or medium-term sections to an already long list of itineraries for cyclists in the city that reach a total of 257 kilometers. The socialist municipal government continues to expand this network, but despite the great mobilization of projects in recent weeks, the coming pace will be different from that of recent years. In the first semester of 2023, 6 kilometers were opened and by next summer 13 more will be added to reach 270. For later, for the rest of the mandate until 2027, there are no numerical forecasts. But in any case the interventions will be much more selective.
"We must bear in mind that Barcelona's pedalable streets go far beyond those with cycle lanes; they extend for 1,150 kilometers if you include the 30 zones and the single platform roads, pacified or for pedestrians", recalls Laia Bonet, first deputy mayor and head of Mobility. The sides of Passeig de Gràcia, the new green areas of the Eixample, such as Consell de Cent, or neighborhoods with calm traffic, such as Vila de Gràcia, are examples of this broader vision. "We will address where it is necessary to expand the network - specifies the councilor -, mainly connecting sections that do not have continuity, especially if they do not have alternatives to go by bike".
The cycling infrastructure has made a big leap in recent years in the Catalan capital. In 2015, it had 120 kilometers of reserved lanes. Expansion – doubling the network – was one of the hallmarks of the municipal government of Ada Colau, most of the time of the coalition between BComú and PSC. The new stage of the mayor Jaume Collboni is not expected to be so big, but rather to improve the existing itineraries and much more limited actions. "The network will continue to grow, but it will be to provide better territorial coverage, not so much because it is required to put a lane here or there", says Bonet. Therefore, it will be fine because it is considered that there is an important structure that allows you to move easily and safely around the city. It could be said that it is about growing more in quality than in quantity.
In this scenario, there is also the review of some axes, such as the newly opened Via Augusta, which has generated controversy and awaits the reports that the municipal government has commissioned to detail the impact it has had on the whole of mobility. All the data – accidents, the impact on public transport or private traffic flows on this avenue and nearby streets – will be available at the end of the year. "Then we will see what needs to be adjusted if anything needs to be done," says Bonet, aware of the cost of dismantling the work and that the Next Generation funds that were received for construction should be returned.
The political wear and tear that would represent the image of the first socialist mayor of a large city who abolishes a bike lane is also feared by municipal officials, who are under pressure from highly mobilized defenders on the one hand, and affected drivers, on the other other
Collboni already defended during the May election campaign to continue promoting the use of the bike, and with regard to the lanes, he set as priorities, mainly internal connections - "continue the expansion prioritizing the lanes that provide more coherence and continuity of the network” – and also with the metropolitan area, connecting lanes in Barcelona with those of other municipalities, implementing the Bicivia plan (of the AMB) and studying new connections through bike lanes between neighboring municipalities.
The metropolitan perspective is key to the socialist government. "Now we have eight cycle lanes that connect with the municipalities in the area and more needs to be done, apart from continuing to link through zones 30 or pacified streets", adds Bonet. The deputy mayor gives two examples: the future lane that will connect Esplugues with the Diagonal via Torre Melina, which La Vanguardia reported on last Monday, and the extension of the Gran Via beyond Plaça Cerdà to link with the bicivia "The connection with Hospitalet is very important - he remembers - and will have a strong boost when the AMBici (metropolitan Bicing) is implemented at the beginning of next year".
Another line of action that is maintained is to lower lanes that run on sidewalks to the roadway to avoid conflicts with pedestrians. In the last four years, 5.3 kilometers have been covered, including on Diagonal (between Pasejos de Gràcia and Sant Joan) or on Gran Via (from Pau Claris to Marina). There are several projects in the portfolio, although no decision has yet been taken to take them forward. The most prominent are the Diagonal (Badajoz-Josep Pla) or the Ramon Albó-Arnau d’Oms axis.
More complicated is the conversion in one-way lanes that are now two-way streets in which the rest of the traffic is one-way. There are very prominent cases, such as the Urgell one, which is expected to be only uphill when the Villarroel one is done, which will be downhill. But this is an action still without a calendar because it depends on the works of the L8 of Ferrocarrils. Another action of this kind is that of Calabria, today double and which will be in the direction of the mountains when Viladomat has its bike path - not yet scheduled - towards the sea. A special case is that of Provença, a street that, as it has little motorized traffic – in the direction of Llobregat –, a two-way bike lane was put on it. Its widespread use has long caused problems. But neighboring Mallorca, under construction, has the same direction and could not be a partner. The City Council is studying alternatives, such as opening another one in Rosselló or making Provence exclusively for bicycles and pedestrians. But these are only technical considerations. No decision has been made on this yet.
The actions carried out recently in the bike lane network are not to the liking of the BACC, the main users' organization. For its president, Carles Benito, the quality of the projects is not desirable. "Initially they may be fine - he maintains - but everyone ends up putting a spoon in: the firemen, the Urban Guard, the garbage collection companies... and in the end abuses are committed, we lose the oremus and the safety not only of cyclists, but also of other people”.
The BACC demands that the City Council act "considering the bicycle a full-fledged vehicle" and that its infrastructures "be done well". Otherwise, "it's better not to do it", insists its president. Benito also advocates continuing to expand the network. "The city has more than 6,000 kilometers of lanes of which only a tiny part are for bikes."
Among the many negative examples that Benito mentions, one stands out, the Gran Via lane that is being extended towards Plaça Cerdà. "It's no longer a black spot, it's a whole black line with a lot of confusion, sections with separators, others without, bus entrances, garbage truck entrances...". Municipal sources specify that this section replaces another that went along the sidewalk and that has special characteristics. First, it goes on the right, when normally those on side roads are placed on the left. It has been done this way to give entry to the additions of cars from the central trunk without them interfering. There are also areas where bus stops have wide platforms that leave space, forcing some points to be shared by bikes and the rest of the traffic limited to 30 km/h. And the areas without separators are so that garbage trucks can enter them on time, to which bikes must give way.
