Badalona installs concrete blocks where the evicted from B9 were sheltering
The City Council argues that it wants to prevent cars from parking there, even though it had assured that it would allow the return of the unemployed
BarcelonaThe Badalona City Council has installed about twenty concrete blocks under the C-31 highway bridge, precisely where for a few days dozens of homeless people lived in tents, most of them from the former B9 Institute. On March 24, the council led by the popular Xavier García Albiol ordered the eviction of the settlement, justifying it as a temporary measure for the need to clean and sanitize the area, which had been occupied since the end of December last year. However, he stated that once the toxic effect of the products used had passed, it would be allowed to be occupied again. Now, however, a municipal brigade has completely blocked access to the site, which is being guarded by an Urban Guard patrol, according to ACN. lived in tents for days, most of them from the former B9 Institute. On March 24, the council led by the popular Xavier García Albiol ordered the eviction of the settlement, justifying it as a temporary measure for the need to clean and sanitize the area, occupied since the end of December last year. However, he stated that once the toxic effect of the products used had passed, it would be allowed to be occupied again. Now, however, a municipal brigade has completely blocked access to the site, which is being guarded by an Urban Guard patrol, according to ACN.
Municipal sources report that this urban section of the highway "has a very low height" and that, therefore, vehicles that wanted to park there "could not pass safely", as in the rest of the underpass. The City Council argues that "some incident had already occurred previously" with a parked car. According to the official version, this is the only reason why "it has been decided to place these elements". In practice, the settlement has completely disappeared from this point.
In fact, the local police have already been carrying out surveillance tasks at this point since the occupants were removed last week to disinfect the area. The spot where the settlement was located was initially cordoned off with plastic fences, but now the concrete blocks, known as New Jersey barriers, have appeared.
A large part of the underpass is now used as an improvised parking lot, while the lower area, where the homeless people had set up camp, is completely impassable due to the presence of the concrete blocks.