Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

The project to transform La Rambla gets under way on 3 October as work begins on the first of the five planned sections, between the Columbus monument and Sant Madrona. The project entails an investment of nearly 10 million euros and should take 18 months, converting the avenue into a greener, friendlier, more cultural and comfortable street, with more pedestrian areas and improved spatial uses.

In this first stretch, La Rambla will undergo a significant change, modifying the layout of Av. Drassanes to improve the connection with the coast and extend the avenue with a new space reaching the seafront. Here the project will create a square with trees, designed to encourage social uses and renew the connection between the avenue, Drassanes and the Columbus monument. The following improvements will also be made:

• The pavement is to be renewed, eliminating the asphalt and adding different types of natural stone (granite and porphyry), which will cover the entire space, unifying it from façade to façade.
• The area will fill with trees, up to a hundred in all (21 of them new), with larger tree beds and improvements to the subsoil.
• Over a hundred benches will be added, generating more space for people to spend time in.
• Lighting will be unified with a simpler and more functional single design.

Safety bollards will also be installed at the request of the Local Security Board.

In terms of circulation, the same model will be applied for the entire remodelling project: a single traffic lane on each side for bikes and buses, goods deliveries and collections, services and access to car parking (local residents only), as is currently the case in the uphill direction.

Works

Work will be carried out in stages so as not to simultaneously occupy both sides of La Rambla. Work on each side will actually be carried out in halves, always ensuring access and circulation for local residents, services, bicycles and emergency vehicles, as well as pedestrians. Access will also be maintained at all times for reserved entrances and car parks, with no disruptions to public transport.

While work is carried out on the first stage, the District of Ciutat Vella has agreed to the ten human statues who work in this space moving to the upper section adjacent to the work. The news kiosk affected by the work will also be temporarily relocated in the same space.

Once the final stage is completed, the road surface of the roundabout at the Columbus monument will be renewed. This will be done when it has the least possible impact for circulation in this area.