Passeig de Gràcia turns 70: the road calls for safety and better mobility

70 years ago a handful of merchants decided to join forces in the Passeig de Gracia to “promote improvements, the good condition of the street”, in short, when shops and restaurants were gaining weight in that noble area in expansion. A mission that in 2022 remains just as valid for the most sought-after street in the commercial scene of Barcelonawhere in spite of everything there is always an open vindictive trench, recognizes its president, Luis Sans.

The hyperactive businessman recalls how dSince 1952, the association created struggled to improve lighting, cleanliness, to save its trees, for underground parking (1968) or widening sidewalks (1974) to invite you to walk the glittering walk. The petitions opened up municipal disputes and lengthy debates, but Sans proclaimed that “defending the interests of the promenade is also defending those of the city.” And that without the tenacity of his demands (such as the one that concluded with the last reform in 2013), today it would not be “the best street in Barcelona and one of the most outstanding in the world».

Double celebration this 2022

To celebrate these seven decades (and start toasting the 200th anniversary of the axis, which will soon see a great display of institutional resources), the Passeig de Gracia Association has brought together this Tuesday night its partners, friends, sympathizers and a whole cast of political representatives in a gala in seat houseone of his star signings in recent years, at the intersection with Diagonal.

Taking advantage of the echo of that auditorium, the representative of the businesses and cultural facilities of the road has shot as directly as usual about «two concerns» that now especially afflict the promenade that brings together most of the firms of luxury in its upper section, while it has established itself as the most popular shopping area popular in the lower one at the cost of sweeping the gray banks and offices at street level. And with an intense schedule of activities commercial and cultural revitalization that will shine this year.

Despite the praise and congratulations of Albert Castilians, Secretary of Business and Competitiveness of the Government; James Collboni, first deputy mayor; Maria Eugenie gayGovernment delegate in Catalonia and Laura Borraspresident of the Parliament, the association has taken advantage of this unique moment to ask them for “consensus policies”, but above all to vindicate itself as a local driving force and demand that they focus on unsafety that “threatens tourism success”.

“We are not effective in the fight against multiple recidivism,” he insisted, again calling for legislative changes to end the impunity of “mafias” who steal daily in the area. “Professional crime is globalized (…) and here it is too comfortable: easy occupation of homes, slow trials and a lax criminal code compared to other countries,” he said. The forthcoming transfer of the joint Mossos and Urbana police station to Pau Claris and the reopening of the second guard court for minor crimes are not enough for them, he insisted.

Urban complaints

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The seasoned association, one of the oldest in the sector in the Catalan capital, also advocates in the middle of the commemorative double year for a mobility policy (“the pursuit of the private car”) that does not discourage its 28% of buyers from the rest of the Catalonia and the metropolitan area. “It is important that they can come to see us. We are central trade and we need the demand of the whole city », of the territory and abroad, he has claimed.

The resounding speech reached the Eixample use plan (which “criminalizes economic activity”) and has only thanked the Colau team for finally accepting major events such as the America’s Cup of sailing or store openings on Sundays, shortly. The entity has made it clear that he grows older, but his roar does not waver.