The candidate of the PP for the mayor of Barcelona, Daniel Sirera, maintains that the future tram along the Diagonal "is a very serious mistake", not only because it divides the city in two, but also "because the impact on traffic will be wild , especially at the height of Balmes or Muntaner... The section between Francesc Macià and El Besòs is unviable". If it were up to him, outside rails and electric buses: "They are cheaper, faster, and would solve the problem without the beastliness they are causing". Sirera participated yesterday in the colloquiums organized by Barcelona Open, the Restoration Guild and La Vanguardia with the mayors.
"The people who live above the Diagonal will not go down, and those below will not go up; the tram will split the city in two", insisted Sirera, who also believes that the superblocks need to be studied one by one to see which ones need to be modified or removed. Of the one in Sant Antoni, which he considers to be working, he criticized the lack of maintenance. With the rest it was harder. "We can't change the medieval walls for other walls like the superillas", he opined, when he considered the difficulties faced by those who come from outside to shop or work in accessing the city.
Answering the questions of Gabriel Jené and Salva Vendrell, presidents of Barcelona Open and the Restoration Guild, the popular candidate proposed a reduction in the rate of terraces to match those of Madrid, "which in some cases are five times inferior", he affirmed. He also defended that the opening hours of the restaurants on the terraces could be extended, "especially on weekends", and placed it as the responsibility of the Urban Guard to comply with the opening hours and avoid inconvenience to the residents.
Sirera called the "municipal desire to confront residents with businesses and restaurateurs" as a mistake because the latter are neighbors on the ground floor who bring security to the streets. Regarding security, he maintained that Barcelona lacks 1,000 Urban Guard officers and 3,000 Mossos and accused the municipal government of "always siding" with the alleged criminal. "There is a certain tolerance that must disappear", he said. In the tourism plan, he was clear: "Barcelona will be touristic or not", and he was in favor of not regulating the arrival of cruise passengers because, "even if they are there for a few hours, there are 7,000 people who shop, eat and drink in the city".
