Barcelona's plan to make peace with residents and tourists at Park Güell

BarcelonaThe reinforcement of the bus service, a greater presence of the City Police and Mobility Agents, as well as the possibility of accessing the park by bicycle during school hours, are the main measures that Barcelona City Council has presented to improve the quality of life of the residents around Park Güell. The First Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, Laia Bonet, explained that these actions respond to the "neighborhood proposals and demandsin view of the critical situation that the community is reporting due to the overcrowding in their neighborhood.

Among the most immediate measures is the redesign of the taxi rank on Carmel Road, a road that residents describe as "impassable" and has become a source of ongoing conflict. In the fall, the rank will be moved to the bus platform located directly opposite, with the aim of improving traffic flow and reducing misconduct.

The current accumulation of tourist vehicles in the neighborhood makes it impossible for the buses to operate their routes during normal hours, not only due to the heavy traffic but also due to the reckless traffic they are constantly having to navigate. Since this measure requires a reorganization of the space, in the meantime, taxi passengers will be dropped off temporarily within the platform, while pickup will remain at the current stop on Carmel Road.

To strengthen surveillance and information, the Guardia Urbana has maintained an active presence in the area since late June, which will soon be expanded with the addition of civic officers. These officers will be responsible for providing information on the rules for using the taxi platform and mediating to minimize conflicts at the four stations: Carmel/Plaza Josefina Torrents, Gran de Gràcia/Lesseps, and at the CAP Larrard. This was, in fact, a priority for users, as they requested that the mobility of residents who need to access their homes be prioritized over that of tourists.

In this regard, another of the most repeated complaints among residents is the lack of buses. Lieutenant Bonet has announced the reinforcement of the service, especially on line V19, which now has more vehicles in circulation during weekdays and weekends. According to municipal data, this measure, which began to be implemented since Easter, has reduced alerts due to excess passengers by 43%, while increasing the number of users by 30%.

Expropriation of two buildings

Another new feature announced by Bonet is the possibility of allowing the school community and residents to access Park Güell by bicycle during school hours.

As for the park access ticketsBonet highlighted the implementation, starting July 1, of non-transferable, name-based tickets. This measure, already in place at other high-traffic monuments, aims to strengthen official ticket sales and will allow visitors to be directly informed of any unforeseen events that may arise, such as the closure of the park due to force majeure. All of these actions "are not a snapshot," Bonet concluded, emphasizing that this is an issue—the coexistence between residents and tourists—that they have been working on since the beginning of their term.

Finally, the City Council has begun the expropriation of two emblematic buildings around the park, Casa Miranda and Casa Trias, which are part of a plan that includes the renovation and opening of the Font del Carbó Gardens. Construction is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2026, with an estimated duration of two years and a budget of €3.6 million.

Neighbors demand measures

Although the number of annual visitors has dropped from 9 million to 4.5 million in the last ten years, "no neighborhood can support that number of annual visitors," says a resident and member of the Turó de la Rovira neighborhood council, who insists on the need to halve ticket sales in the park. Furthermore, neighborhood sources assert that the promotion of public transportation for tourism "ends up directly harming Barcelona residents" due to overcrowded lines.

On the other hand, while residents welcome the expropriation of Casa Miranda, seeing it as an opportunity to provide the neighborhood with its own space, they also fear that Casa Trias will become a museum that attracts even more visitors to an already "saturated" neighborhood. Therefore, they propose that the three million euros earmarked for this project be used to improve the working conditions of the staff working at Parc Güell.