Greener but dirtier: Girona's midterm review

GironaGirona faces the mid-term of a tripartite government, unprecedented in its history, formed by Guanyem, Junts, and Esquerra (Republican Left), with a particularly hot topic on the table: a change in the waste collection model. The daily recycling schedule, with the introduction of so-called smart containers, is unanimously considered the worst of Mayor Lluc Salellas's first two years in office, according to the eight sector representatives interviewed by ARA.

The city council maintains that a contract inherited from the Junts administration, when Marta Madrenas governed, has been approved and that it will need to be adjusted to improve it. A year after its implementation, in fact, it was announced on Monday that glass would once again be collected in containers in 75% of waste areas and that organic waste and garbage collection would be extended to Mondays. "It's the issue we spend the most time on. We're as concerned about it as most people in the city," Salellas stated Monday night at the public midterm conference he held at the Girona Auditorium, where a resident brought him bags of garbage in a protest.

Better communication with the mayor's office

Regarding improvements, the good communication with the city council stands out, both with the mayor's office and the departments, and various sectors value the willingness to address much of the pending work. This includes not only the conditions of city hall workers, with years of judicialized wage gaps, but also, in the case of real estate, the approval of the Local Housing Plan and the step forward toward integrating tariffs in all Girona regions for next year.

Closing out a June marked by record temperatures, the Naturalistes de Girona (Girona Naturalists) emphasizes the "clear commitment to urban biodiversity with the separate clearing of grass in parks and gardens." In other words, the city is greener, although in their opinion, the new waste collection system has not promoted "reducing consumption."

Is there too much tourism?

The management of tourism and housing, as is also the case in Barcelona, ​​has become a topic of debate that is straining the governing partners themselves. The Girona Hospitality Association, in conjunction with the Girona Centre Eix Comercial Merchants Association, has launched the GirONa campaign to defend the idea that "tourism is the backbone" of the city's economy and that it "generates up to 14,000 jobs."

Guanyem maintains that policies are needed to preserve the identity of the Girona people—more than 50% of the inhabitants of the Barri Vell were not born in the district—and Salellas announced the launch of neighborhood projects, with the transformation of Barcelona Street as a future axis "with a long-term vision."

Naturalists of Girona

Jan Ferrer Picó, president

The best:

• A clear commitment has been made to urban biodiversity with the use of grass clearing in parks and gardens.
• The reactivation of the eco-social transition plan has been seen, for example the commitment to developing carbon budgets and a commitment to post-growth.
• A change in the waste collection model has been implemented.

Worst:

• Waste policies have failed to adequately take into account citizens' habits and high levels of incivility, and they fail to promote reduced consumption.
• The homework on urban planning and public services is not being done with the metropolitan vision necessary for growth in the coming years.
• Sufficient measures are being implemented to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Girona Hospitality Association

Xavier Garcia, President

The best:

• The fluid communication between the Hospitality Association and politicians, both the city councils and the mayor's office. This governing team has improved significantly compared to the previous one.

Worst:

• The waste management transition is a complete disaster. While rates have increased by 30%, service has decreased by 50%.
• The new ordinances on the occupation of public roads: this new government has done as one reset on all the city's permitted terraces. It started from scratch with a change in regulations, materials, and fees.
• The city's tourism sector policies have not helped convey the message that the tourism sector is a thorn in the side of the city's economy. They have conveyed that it's an enemy: it's not true that tourism in Girona is overcrowded.

Chamber of Commerce

Jaume Fàbrega, president

The best:

• A decisive step toward the completion of the Nou Campus Salut, with the new Trueta Campus as a landmark in the district.
• The stability of the governing pact and the good coordination with the city councils, along with the few partisan clashes.
• Boosting business and generating wealth with the innovation fund and bureaucratic simplification.

Worst:

• The city's poor waste management, with pioneering and innovative proposals that would have required experimentation before being widely implemented.
• Difficulty finding formulas to combine the necessary sustainable growth of tourism with good civic coexistence.

Coordinator of solidarity NGOs

Ángel Vázquez Viu, president

The best:

• A dedicated department for Cooperation at a time when reactionary, far-right rhetoric is rife.
• A new Global Education plaza that promotes critical citizenship toward North-South inequalities.
• Motions on forced marriages, the climate emergency, or against genocide and Zionist apartheid.

Worst:

• The call for cooperation grants arrives too late and with complicated forms.
• The Master Plan for Cooperation, which was a promise from Guanyem, is in its infancy.
• The disappearance of the Cooperation Unit's physical space has led to a distancing from the administration.

Girona Theatre Association (AGT) / El Galliner

Mario Rebugent, board member

The best:

• The Municipal Theater's programming, directed by Elena Carmona, is more interesting, diverse, and open to new audiences. Its interaction with the city's schools and institutes has also improved.
• The City Council's support for the El Galliner Theatre School by guaranteeing it a space in the city center when it has to leave its current location, located in the Girona Cultural Center.

Worst:

• The Girona City of Festivals model has been maintained, neglecting grassroots culture.
• The nearly half a million euros spent on the Temporada Alta festival contrast with the Cicle Cerca, managed by the City Council, which pays poorly to emerging creators.

Teisa

Alex Gilabert, manager

The best:

• The positive results, with pre-COVID increases of 35-40%, were expected when teleworking would have a negative impact. Growth is so strong that we must increase supply by any means necessary.
• The exemption for public transport in the low-emission zone (LEZ). They have listened to and accepted the sector's request.

Worst:

• Establish a fee for those who choose to come to Girona for leisure purposes. Those who choose public transport for a day trip to Girona are charged a fee, while those who come by private car are not.
• Park-and-ride parking at city entrances. I think this is a pending issue for this term, as is the prioritization of bus lanes.

College of Real Estate Agents

Joan Company, President

The best:

• The approval of the Local Housing Plan, which has been pending for years. We now have a tool that has allowed us to take a snapshot of the housing situation in the city of Girona and sets a certain tone for the coming years.
• The existing provision for social housing. It's important that the effort has been made to allocate resources, and through Incasòl, a significant investment is planned and is underway.

Worst:

• There has been no dialogue with those of us who represent the real estate sector. We can mediate with the private sector to try to solve the housing problem, otherwise we'll have a hard time getting ahead.

Coordinator of Neighborhood Associations of Girona (CAV Girona)

Roger Casero Gumbau, president

The best:

• Active listening to residents through "The City Council Listens to Me."
• The agreement for improvements in the working conditions of public officials.
• Promoting sustainable mobility, with increased bus frequencies and strengthening the Girocleta service with more stations.

Worst:

• The rigidity and lack of flexibility at the start of the implementation of the new waste collection system and the resulting widespread littering of the city.
• Poor maintenance and cleaning of green areas.
• The excessive bureaucratization of incident management.