"I have to let four buses pass so they can get full of tourists on board."

Barcelona"There are days when I have to let three or four buses pass by so they can get on board full of tourists. Our lives come to a standstill to promote tourism," explains Carme. "It's not logical that visitors use one bus for two stops, but an elderly person, a wheelchair user, or a stroller can't. The park, the transport system, or the residents can't handle this," adds David Mar, a member of the Turó de la Rovira Neighborhood Council. "There are more and more visitors, and now what we have is a road safety problem," complains Francesco, the driver of the V21 bus. "We need the 30,000 residents of Carmel to make the City Council listen to us!" exclaimed Montse.

They are all part of the group of residents from the Park Güell area who braved the sun and heat this Saturday morning to make noise and block vehicle access to Antoni Gaudí's iconic garden with a dual objective: to get Barcelona City Council to take measures to ensure that neighborhood residents and tourist buses do not unload passengers in a "dangerous" manner. And, if possible, to regulate and limit the arrival of tourists so that Gaudí's success doesn't kill the neighborhood. "It's not enough to limit entry or regulate access time slots to the park. We have to reduce the number of tourists who can enter; that's not sustainable," complained one resident.

Residents of this area of Barcelona have taken to the streets for the first time to speak out against the overcrowding of tourists, which, they say, makes it impossible for them to live normal lives. And it's the first time because they say they will continue to do so every weekend until the city council takes seriously the inconveniences and risks they face due to the mass tourism that Parc Güell attracts and that the municipal government itself "promotes." A year ago, Barcelona City Council announced a package of measures to try to alleviate the pressure of visitors in the surroundings of Parc Güell. In the Salut neighborhood, the council opted for relocate the taxi, VTC and tourist coach stop on the other side of the park to avoid traffic jams and discomfort among neighbors.

Impossible turns

To untie one knot, the municipal decision has ended up making another: now they are the residents of Turó de la Rovira who complain that they are living in hell, since, since the location of the bus stop was changed, the Carmel road is "impassable" and has become a source of ongoing conflicts. "Let [Jaume] Collboni and [Laia] Bonet come here by bus!" an elderly man shouted indignantly.

Specifically, residents complain that the accumulation of tourist vehicles in the neighborhood makes it impossible for the transports to make a route during a normal schedule, not only because of the density of traffic, but also because of the reckless traffic they say they have to continually avoid, which affects, above all, the Parc Güell bus stop and the Parc Güell bus stop. Francesco explains that the risk of accidents has increased on the Carmel road, because they have practically no visibility at turns and tourists rush through without looking. "If we add the fact that now, from June 22nd to September, there will be a reduction in service, but even more tourism...", Francesco leaves in the air. "The poor drivers often can't get out or even get to the stop, and people can't even pass by on the street," laments Carme.

For the residents, the only effective measure to ease congestion in the neighborhood is the one implemented on bus 116, which is to remove the Google Maps line so that tourists don't see it as an option. But since the council hasn't given the green light to the measure, they're asking the City Council to at least place information officers at the stops to prioritize bus users who need to use them to get to their homes.