Barcelona gives a boost to the tram connection along the Diagonal
The next steps should be the approval of the infrastructure and the agreement to finance it.
BarcelonaNew boost for the tram connection along Diagonal Avenue. This Tuesday, the Barcelona City Council's urban planning commission validated the final approval of two essential documents for the project to move forward: the redevelopment of Diagonal Avenue between Passeig de Sant Joan and Plaça de Francesc Macià, and the renovation of the sewer system. The municipal government secured the votes of Barcelona en Comú and ERC for the avenue's renovation, and also of Junts for the sewer project. With the final approval of these two documents, the tram connection along Diagonal Avenue requires two more crucial steps. The first will be the approval of the infrastructure project by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM), a debate that will take place at the board meeting scheduled for April. Then will come the most delicate phase: agreeing on and approving the financing agreement between the City Council and the Catalan Government, which must establish how much each will pay to carry out a connection estimated to cost approximately 100 million euros.
This need to allocate resources to the project so it can be put out to tender has briefly brought the Generalitat's budget negotiations between ERC and PSC into the debate. First Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet brought it up when she emphasized that making the tram connection a reality requires more than just advancing the administrative procedures; "political agreements and budgets in both the City Council and the Generalitat are also necessary."
ERC councilor Rosa Suriñach echoed this message, responding by putting pressure on the Catalan government. "We hope that the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, realizes that support is needed to have a budget," she declared. But beyond that, the Republican councilor confirmed her group's support for the tram connection, which she considers a key infrastructure for improving mobility within the metropolitan area.
Barcelona en Comú also voted in favor of the two proposals related to the tram. However, councilor Guille López lamented that Jaume Collboni's government is late and hasn't promoted these projects sooner. "This will have been a lost term because of the tram connection," he lamented, and asked that the construction time be shortened. However, Bonet dismissed this, pointing out that the forty months of construction planned once the tram connection project is put out to tender are twenty months less than it took to complete the connection between Glòries and Verdaguer.
Together, the PP and Vox reiterated their opposition to a connection that, they warned, could severely hinder mobility on a vital thoroughfare in the city for a long time.
2.8 kilometers of transformation
With the final approval of the executive project to redevelop Diagonal Avenue, the City Council will be able to put out to tender a project with a budget of 50 million euros, which aims to transform 2.8 kilometers of this thoroughfare. The plan includes an increase of 16,000 m² of pedestrian space and an expansion of green areas and bike lanes by 18,900 m² and 1,800 m², respectively. Between Verdaguer and Francesc Macià streets, the idea is to "continue" the work already completed on the section from Glòries to Verdaguer. As for the duplication of the sewer line between Girona and Francesc Macià streets, it will cost 58 million euros and should help reduce the risk of flooding and surface water runoff on the avenue and in the surrounding area during torrential rains.
