Rectification of the government of the new mayor Jaume Collboni. The twelve radars that were installed in September of last year, and that have been fined since January, located in sections of streets in the city's basic network next to schools, limited to 30 km/h, are they will make it more flexible so that they will only penalize vehicles that exceed this value from Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Outside these hours - at night, on Sundays and also throughout the month of August - they will be activated from 50 km/h, the maximum allowed generically on these roads. With this correction, the demands of neighbors and also of the RACC, who demanded that these devices be adapted to the activity of educational centers, both classes and after-school, are met.
The measure, which will start to be applied on August 1, also affects 21 other sections on the edge of other school centers that do not have speed cameras, but are also limited to 30 km/h despite the fact that they are also on main roads of the city where you can reach 50 km/h. The restriction will apply at the same times as those controlled by cineometers. In these cases, it will be enough to change the signage, an operation that will begin in the coming days.
"It was a public demand that appeals to common sense and as a result of conversations with the neighbors we saw that we could make it more flexible", argued yesterday the first deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, that when these radars were installed and then , when they started sanctioning, defended the convenience of applying the 30 km/h restriction 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without exception. It was, he said then, about changing the habits of drivers in very sensitive places where it is advisable to drive at low speed due to the regular presence of minors. Because, he insisted, going more slowly is key to avoid accidents or, if there are any, the injuries they cause are minor. In addition, he recalled, there were no precedents in other cities for the operation of these time control systems.
"We have innovated by putting these radars in school environments, we can also innovate by making them more flexible", added Bonet. This rectification is not surprising either, because the previous government of BComú and PSC was already evaluating the possibility of differentiating timetables and had even commissioned a technical report to determine if it was possible. In addition, in the last election campaign, the socialist Jaume Collboni was open to adapting the devices so that they could travel faster, up to 50 km/h, when there is no activity in the schools.
In any case, the objective, insisted the number two of the municipal government, is to continue to guarantee the safety of the little ones when they enter and leave the schools and, according to the government's opinion, this can be achieved by delimiting the timetables.
After recalling that the change comes as a result of a report commissioned by the previous government, the commune Janet Sanz emphasized that the protection of schools "is a pioneering, innovative program, which does not only consist of installing radars, but of pacifying environments by making them livable, comfortable and filling them with greenery and furniture". Jordi Martí Galbis, spokesman for Trias for Barcelona, the main opposition group, considered the correction to be "good news" and recalled that Junts already proposed it in the previous mandate and it was ignored and that a few days ago he presented a request in the same sense. "To rectify is for the wise", he concluded.
Bonet also announced that this month 28 more radars will be installed in the city (see box) that will not result in fines. These devices were presented in March 2021 along with the twelve school children and five others, but unlike these 17 they had not been placed. They will also indicate the speed at which you are going and if the permitted limit has been exceeded with a screen. They are expected to be active this semester. "They will be of an informative, pedagogical nature - assured the mayor-. We hope to achieve what we have already done with others in which there has been a very important change in habits".
