The transformation of the mobility model is the great challenge facing large cities as a result of population growth, the need to combat climate change, and to improve the living conditions of people, who seek more habitable, safer, and less harmful spaces for their health. Given this fact, it is vital to introduce changes that allow combining all these elements without compromising economic growth and with sufficient social consensus.
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It may seem like squaring the circle, but there are some favorable winds that can facilitate this transformation, such as the unstoppable digitalization process and the adoption of revolutionary technologies for the functioning of a city, like 5G networks. The greater environmental awareness of new generations, the sustainable development goals that large companies are incorporating into their daily lives, the increase in teleworking, and, above all, the need to have a city with a very high quality of life to continue attracting talent are other driving elements of this process. A process towards a necessarily more sustainable model that requires brave, well-studied, technically endorsed decisions that do not respond to partisan interests, but rather are the result of broad consensus and a long-term urban debate, as these are plans that go beyond municipal mandates.
With the aim of responding to this context, and with the horizon set for 2030, the Barcelona City Council has just presented the definitive proposal for the Urban Mobility Plan (PMU), an ambitious document that it claims to have worked on with some thirty entities and that will now be debated among the municipal groups and can also be amended during the public period of allegations prior to its definitive approval in the plenary session of the Municipal Council.
The objectives of the plan
The main objective of the plan is that by 2024, 81% of displacements in the city will be made sustainably, that is, on foot, by public transport or by bicycle. The idea of the city council headed by Mayor Ada Colau is to minimize the use of private vehicles and, to this end, a lot of measures will be adopted that will not be to everyone's liking and, therefore, require maximum consensus. Among them, the implementation of a maximum speed of 30 km/h throughout the city, the construction of 67 more kilometers of bus lanes, 32 new kilometers of pedestrian streets, a 40% increase in the bike lane network, the prohibition of parking motorcycles on sidewalks, and the practical disappearance of the possibility of parking a car for free on the street, as the green or blue zone will extend to 90% of available spaces, of which there will be fewer and fewer.
The key to achieving all this is the improvement of public transport. The City Council has estimated the investment that all the administrations involved will have to make at 6,500 million euros so that Barcelona has a network of metro, buses, trains, and trams capable of responding to the objectives pursued by the Urban Mobility Plan.
This figure is equivalent to 90% of the costs that the city council has calculated for all the necessary actions to execute the plan, which total a global amount of 7,163 million euros.
And what will that money be spent on? The PMU 2024 is specified in 60 lines of action and more than 300 specific measures focused on favoring displacements with sustainable modalities; reducing inefficient or polluting displacements; and regulating and improving the efficiency of what is considered "essential mobility," a new, but also diffuse, concept that is now being put on the table.
According to the Barcelona City Council, the challenges pursued by these 300 measures are "to guarantee the right to mobility; to ensure people's health and safety; to contribute to the recovery of economic and commercial activity; and to combat the climate crisis and improve air quality."
More bicycles and fewer cars
These lines of action and specific measures aim for pedestrian mobility to absorb 35% of all trips in the city by 2024 (+7.5%). Public transport must grow to occupy a share greater than 41% (+15%), and bicycle trips should double, going from the current 2.2% to 5% of the modal share (+129%). Finally, private vehicles must reduce their weight from 26% to 18% (-25%).
In parallel, the PMU will also introduce changes in the urban goods distribution model and also includes 29 measures focused on digitalization or smart mobility. This is a summary of the main measures to be adopted:
- Pedestrians:
- Motorcycles will be progressively removed from all sidewalks and also from bike lanes, which will be located only on the roadway.
- More escalators and elevators will be built in mountain neighborhoods.
- Work will be done to eliminate all obstacles that usually hinder passage.
- Pedestrian streets ("pacified" zones) will be extended and the plan for superblocks or green axes in the Eixample will be carried out.
- Public transport:
- Review and reorganization of bus lines, to make them more efficient.
- Improve weekend service.
- Construction of 67 new km of bus lanes and enhancement of traffic light priority.
- Reorganization of supramunicipal buses.
- Promote infrastructure outside the city (Park & Ride) to favor supramunicipal public transport.
- Improve the connection and coverage of tram networks.
- Promote zero-emission buses.
- Introduction of on-demand public transport (through digital methods) in certain neighborhoods.
- Improve metro frequency.
- Create a public taxi app.
- Favor shared taxis.
- Promote Wi-Fi in taxis.
- Improve the infrastructure and signaling of the railway network. Execute the Cercanías plan. Commissioning of the Sant Andreu Comtal and Sagrera stations.
- Review of the fare system.
- Bicycle:
- Increase the bike lane network by 40%.
- In streets with three or more lanes, introduce one where the speed for cars is less than 30 km/h and thus make uses compatible.
- Expand Bicing electric bicycles.
- Encourage secure bicycle parking on public roads.
- Goods distribution:
- The implementation of last-mile logistics micro-platforms for distribution is to be promoted, at least in each district of the city.
- Promote nocturnal loading and unloading with silent vehicles.
- Promote click & collect lockers to reduce home deliveries.
- Promote specific taxation to reduce the environmental impact of goods distribution with the creation of a tax on the last mile or e-commerce.
- Private vehicle:
- Implement a 30 km/h speed limit throughout the city.
- Promotion of electric or low-emission vehicles.
- Achieve 80% of the municipal fleet being electric by 2024.
- Increase the electric vehicle charging network, with 60 fast charging points.
- Extend the regulation of the Green Area throughout the city, until 90% of on-street parking spaces are regulated.
- New technologies:
- Promote metropolitan shared vehicle services with the respective expansion of licenses.
- Incorporate other means of transport such as Bicing and taxi into T-Mobilitat.
- Promote intelligent mobility management.
- Improve traffic light operation.
- Data capture to improve urban mobility.
- Introduce more automatic street control systems (cameras, radars, photos at traffic lights).
- Introduce video-reporting on buses, i.e., a camera system that will allow fining all types of infractions.