In less than a week, two children, aged 11 and 14, have died in Barcelona after being hit by a bus, one a city bus and the other an intercity bus. While we await the causes of this tragic coincidence (pedestrians are also fatally distracted), it is important to highlight the fact that the speed at which buses travel in Barcelona often causes distress.
It is distressing to see the speed at which they approach the bus stop or pass through a pedestrian crossing with the light green, their mirrors at the level of the sidewalk, creating the feeling that if the pedestrian doesn't move out of the way, their head will be blown off.
It is distressing to see them driving overflowing the width of traffic lanes that no longer fit, because, over the years, the spaces have become narrower in those streets where bike lanes have been added. If, on top of that, there's a whole range of increasingly wider passenger cars, the result is that we have vehicles competing for the same space at considerable speeds, where a deviation of just a few centimeters in their trajectories can be fatal. Watching a bus change lanes to make a turn seem to be bearing down on you is frightening. Inside the buses, the dizzying experience for passengers is no safer.
I don't know to what extent drivers are pressured to improve the average speed of the service, or if they simply succumb to the anxiety of dodging stopped taxis, delivery vans, and equally dizzying motorcyclists. But traffic calming isn't just a matter of speed cameras and fines; it's everyone's responsibility, especially those who provide a municipal public service.
