Only three lanes and restrictions in the mountain direction: this is how traffic will be handled on the new Via Laietana.

BarcelonaThree years, 38 million euros, and many hours of debate later, the new Via Laietana is about to see the light of day. Barcelona City Council has called a public celebration to inaugurate it on Sunday, June 29th. The project will be pedestrian-friendly with wider sidewalks and prioritizing public transport and bicycles. However, some restrictions will be taken into account. Thus, while private vehicles will be able to travel in one of the two lanes heading towards the sea with no restrictions other than a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour, in the single lane heading towards the mountains, private vehicle traffic will be much more restricted.

After three weeks of testing, the City Council has decided to make changes to these restrictions. Thus, in addition to buses 47 and 120, the V15 will also be using the mountain-bound lane after the summer. Residents of the Sant Pere, Santa Caterina, and Ribera neighborhoods, and Barceloneta, and finally those in the Gothic Quarter, will be able to use the mountain-bound lane. Taxis originating or arriving within the restricted traffic area, users of parking lots, vehicle repair shops, and hotels, hostels, or guesthouses in the area, users of the Santa Caterina Market logistics platform, and freight distribution vehicles are the other people who will be allowed to use them.

Cameras against violators

As is already the case on La Rambla, after the summer, a license plate camera system will be implemented to ensure that vehicles entering Via Laietana from the mountains remain in a parking lot or at the market. For other vehicles, the alternative route will be, as before, via Passeig Picasso or Passeig Lluís Companys, a route that, according to municipal technical studies made public at the start of the works, only adds between one and three minutes to the route.

One of the controversial aspects of the Via Layetana renovation that will now be tested is the space for bicycles. Heading towards the sea, they will share the lane with buses and taxis, while heading towards the mountains will have a segregated bike lane, which, however, will be occasionally interrupted by buses when they need to enter and exit at stops along Via Laietana.

Speaking to reporters, First Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet celebrated the city's approaching launch of what she called one of the "greatest transformations" Barcelona has undergone in recent years. A remodeling that, she said, should ensure Via Laietana is no longer a street "one you don't want to walk down."