From the bike lane in Maragall to an expropriation in Gràcia: PSC and ERC agree on the fate of 20 million euros in Barcelona.

BarcelonaThe rapport between the ERC (Republican Socialist Workers' Party) and the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) in Barcelona continues to bear fruit. The municipal government and the Republicans' group at Barcelona City Council presented an agreement this Wednesday to allocate nearly €20 million of this year's extended budget to 58 projects spread across the city's 10 districts. Among the projects that will benefit from these investments are the reactivation of plans such as the Maragall bike lane, investment in sports facilities, and improvements to public spaces.

Other planned projects include the remodeling of Plaça del Poeta Boscà in Ciutat Vella; improvements to the San Antonio Senior Citizens' Space in the Eixample district; the completion of the executive project for the facility that will be located on Diputació Street in the Sants-Montjuïc district; carry out the executive project for Caba Square in Les Corts, and the drafting of the executive project for the bike lane on Benet and Mateu Street and Capità Arenas Street in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi.

The agreement will also allow for the reactivation of processes such as the expropriations planned within the framework of the MPGM (General Urban Development Plan) for Rambla del El Prat in Gràcia, which should allow for the construction of public housing in one of the neighborhoods where there is the least amount of it. Specifically, the pending expropriation of the property at 14 Sant Antoni is planned. The plan also includes the development of the green area of Via Barcino in Nou Barris, and the improvement of accessibility and paving on Rambla Prim, as well as the drafting of the project to refurbish the Plaza de los Campeones in Sant Mar.

Among the initiatives included in this list are many related to improvements to sports or community facilities, such as the comprehensive renovation of the Formiga Martinenca; improvements to the Sagrada Família Children's Centre; the adaptation and improvement of the Drassanes track; the installation of a sports equipment warehouse at the Sant Genís dels Agudells football pitch; the comprehensive renovation of Can Crehuet in Horta-Guinardó; and the complete remodeling of the Ciutat Meridiana football pitch.

The selected projects were developed by the districts themselves, and the investments were distributed equally. Sant Martí is the district with the highest planned investment, with €2,168,000, followed by Nou Barris, with €2,122,000, and Eixample and Sants-Montjuïc, with €2,077,000. Ciutat Vella is the district with the lowest planned investment, with €1,685,000. The execution schedule for the projects varies, with some already nearing completion, others to be completed during the current term, and others, such as the Paseo Maragall bike lane, where the plan is to accelerate procedures to be able to carry out the work later.

Valls and Castellana support the agreement.

At the presentation of the agreement on the actions in the districts, the Fourth Deputy Mayor for Economy, Jordi Valls, emphasized that the pact demonstrates the municipal government's "willingness" to "reach agreements and fulfill them" and welcomed the establishment of a "new working methodology in the districts," which, he said, the government intends to maintain. Regarding the projects, he stated that each one has a timeline—some are in the drafting phase and others are underway—but indicated that "the will is to complete them."

For his part, the ERC spokesperson at City Hall, Jordi Castellana, emphasized that this is a plan with local projects and ERC's desire to "put its negotiating power at the service of residents" to "improve their quality of life." Thus, the purpose of the pact, stated the ERC spokesperson, is to "unblock" some of the projects in the districts that residents are demanding and that were still pending.