Tourism

This initiative shows the municipal priority to manage tourism and reduce the number of authorised areas for coaches to stop around the Sagrada Família.

The Eixample District and the Mobility area, together with Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM) and the Tourism area, have designed measures to remove seven boarding and alighting stops exclusively for tourist coaches on Carrer Padilla and Carrer Consell de Cent to locate three new ones on Marina, in a setting with pavements wide enough to accommodate the flow of tourists.

It is a definitive solution to the location of the tourist coach stops near the temple, which shows the municipal priority to manage tourism and its effects and to respond to the residents’ demands and petitions to free the pavements in front of their homes.

The Deputy Mayor for Economy, Finance, Economic Development and Tourism and councillor for the Eixample District, Jordi Valls, ”This intervention demonstrates the municipal government’s commitment to prioritise the management of tourism, with the deployment of measures that regulate tourist mobility and improve movement in public space areas of high influx. ”Tourism is an undeniable economic engine and strategic sector for Barcelona, but it is clear that we have the challenge of properly and jointly managing this success, also with the local community, which experiences its effects in their daily life.”

This reorganisation of the Bus Zone around the Sagrada Família also seeks to optimise and improve its operation. It should also put an end to some instances of indiscipline that took place last summer. The impact of Diagonal’s works on the original stops and the recovery of tourist occupancy after the pandemic highlighted the need to optimise the stops and find a definitive solution after some initial adjustments of spaces and modifications introduced in the summer.

The initiative will be carried out in two phases and will begin today, Wednesday, with the removal of a first stop – which will become a service road- and will be finished during April with the removal of six more spaces and the establishment of a new Bus Zone on Marina with three spaces.

• Stage 1: Remove Plaça Padilla above Enamorats.
• Stage 2:
  • Enable the new Bus Zone between Diputació and Consell de Cent on Marina.

A measure similar to the one carried out this summer: affecting bins, parking spaces, and relocating the bike lane.

• Remove all spaces on Padilla and those in Consell de Cent with nearby housing.

The transfer of part of the capacity of the Bus Zone to Carrer Marina allows the placement of stops in an area with pavements wide enough to accommodate the flow of tourists. This measure also aims to reduce the impact on the groups’ routes to the temple and back to the coach.

At the same time, this change in stop locations creates a clear route for coaches travelling along Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes and Carrer Marina. If this boarding and alighting area is full, they will have a second option at the four spaces available on Consell de Cent.

In total, in the final configuration, the number of tourist coach spaces near the Sagrada Família is reduced from 17 to 13. However, this is a solution that optimises and improves their operation.