The commercial toll of large works: "In the end we will have to leave"

BarcelonaA large red sign announces that the premises on the corner of Travessera de Gràcia and Sant Gabriel street, next to Plaça Gal·la Placídia in Barcelona, are for rent. Until three weeks ago, there was a jewelry and accessories store in those ground-floor premises that had been in the neighborhood for years. Until July 31, when it closed definitively, the shop had a letter hanging on its door saying goodbye to the neighbors and explaining the reasons for the move to a new location in Sant Gervasi: the impact of the works on line L8 of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC).

After a year and a half of resisting, the business has had enough. "Given the impossibility of offering you the comfortable, close, and quality service you deserve, we are putting a stop to it," stated the letter, which pointed out that the evolution of the works foresees an increase in the impact on the area. A definitive blow. "The long works will leave our premises practically inaccessible for a long period of time," they recounted.

It is possible that this jewelry store would not be the last to close due to the construction work. A few meters away, at the women's lingerie store Curvaciones, Isabel also advises customers to keep an eye on social media and the store's website, as she does not rule out moving soon. She explains that if the first phase of the construction was already complicated, what is to come will be even worse. Headaches that, she points out, have also been noticed in sales. "If it continues like this, we will have to leave," she says.

The soundtrack of angle grinders and pneumatic hammers is not exclusive to the Gal·la Placídia area. On Muntaner street, the works for the L8 line have also been noticeable for some time. Laia Bueno works at the Casas shoe store. For a couple of months, she has had a construction fence less than a meter from the entrance, leaving a narrow passage for residents, which she claims multiplies the "draft" and "heat" inside the premises. "Many people avoid this street if they can," she laments, adding that many customers who used to come by car no longer do. Sales, of course, are affected. Bueno resignedly points out that they will have to endure at least another half year. Some, like the Gola store a few meters further up, have given up. A red sign corroborates this: "Liquidation due to construction...", it says with ellipses.

The headaches for affected businesses splash across the entire route of the future line, which will connect FGC's Vallès and Baix Llobregat lines. On Comte d'Urgell street, shops also have to coexist with the fences that act as a screen for works that have already been going on for twenty months. One example is the bar Urgell 1929, which is struggling to reach its centenary in three years. They are not making it easy for them. Located at the intersection with Consell de Cent, it has practically chained together the works of the green axis with those of the L8. Rosa Parramon celebrates that for some time now she has been able to put a table on the terrace again, but admits that it is not easy to get by. She also explains that, although communication with the City Council was not optimal at first, it has now improved thanks to the mediation figure between businesses and the works.

But the city is not only going through the L8 line works. In Poble-sec, residents of Vila i Vilà street have had to coexist for two and a half years with the inconveniences generated by the work for the new collector, a necessary infrastructure that will improve the neighborhood's resistance to floods after downpours. These works have caused some businesses to have to close their shutters and others to be reaching their limit and have had to lay off staff. Although it seems that they are finally facing the final stretch, traders continue to demand compensation for the impact that all this has had on their businesses.

The City Council promises aid

The lack of aid is one of the recurring complaints in all these cases. Several merchants lament that, beyond putting up signs showing the names of the shops hidden behind fences, few measures have been offered to them. In the last plenary session, the council unanimously approved a proposal by Junts per Barcelona that urged the municipal government to provide aid to businesses affected by long-term works. A plan that included direct economic compensation for shopkeepers, municipal discount vouchers for residents to buy in these businesses, and even negotiating with suppliers for a moratorium on bills for establishments that have had to close temporarily, as in the case of those affected by the L9 sinkhole in Sant Gervasi.

During that debate, the deputy mayor for Economic Promotion, Raquel Gil, admitted that "the works cause inconvenience," but stressed that "the discomfort is temporary and the benefits lasting." The councilor pointed out, however, that the council has been making proposals for some time to promote businesses in areas affected by works and that it is working on visibility improvements.