There is still almost a whole year ahead, but it is very likely that part of the fans of Barça that go up to the Olympic Stadium through the Mechanic stairs that crawl through Montjuic have to deviate from their route to attend the first matches of the next season. This is what the studies of the City hallwhich plans to change the 22 elevators that give access to the mountain museums and the venues that host mass events, such as the Lluís Companys and the Palau Sant Jordi.
The first substitutions can mean that, in the case of large crowds, it takes almost 20 minutes longer to cross the distance between the Spain square and the provisional home of the Blaugrana. This section can be traveled in a period of 15 to 30 minutes, according to the municipal company BSM. The delay is relatively small but important for those who arrive at the game with very little time.
The documentation of the reform which the council is planning to address, at a cost of nine million euros, warns that the walk to the stadium could become longer while the first four stairs. If the usual ones do not interfere delays of public works, they will be uninstalled in September 2024 so that the new ones come into operation the following month, in October. By then, the club hopes to be hastening its exile before returning to the Camp Nou in November of next year, when the Barcelona coliseum will still be under reconstruction.
A report included in the project to update the Montjuïc stairs concludes that “the worst case” could occur with the start of the first phase of the construction work disassembly and relief of the elevators. According to BSM checks, the “increase of time” Both arriving and leaving the meetings or concerts that are usually scheduled at the promontory would take around “19.5 minutes”, due to the need to surround the point in construction. This situation would last “for two months,” he adds. When the next two pairs of stairs are changed, between October and December 2024, the delay would drop to 11 minutes and 42 seconds in the most adverse scenario.
BSM tells EL PERIÓDICO that it is a “study of maximums”, not the averages expected under normal conditions. It is the calculation of the most unfavorable of chaining circumstances that slow down the pace, so the usual experience for the public will be lighter. Furthermore, the company responds that, if that combination occurs that looks more like exceptionalwill intervene to minimize inconvenience.
Viewers per hour
The section of two stairs going up and two going down where the remodeling It gives access to the MNAC parking area, one of the shortcuts to the Olympic Stadium. BSM calculates that, when they provide maximum performance, this pairing transports 36,804 people per hour. To facilitate transit to and from the game, the City Council and Barça consider that the elevators move all at the same time in an upward or downward direction. In that case, the four stairs in question are able of transporting 69,672 people in one hour.
While the first ones are cancelled, the ability other ways to absorb spectators can be 4,032 to 12,000 fewer people per hour, BSM rate. The evaluation takes into account the dimensions of conventional sidewalks and stairs, as well as other elevators that will continue in service. The project maintains that the cutting of the escalators entails “a decrease of the flow of people who can access the different facilities located on the Montjuïc mountain, including the MNAC, the Palau Sant Jordi and the Estadi Olímpic.
“This fact causes more people to follow an itinerary alternative“, either using conventional stairs or a different access route,” says the plan. “It causes that, given the limitation maximum access capacity for people on these alternative itineraries, there are points where in certain scenarios, such as show days or soccer matches, bottlenecks arise,” he warns.
In any case, it has been planned that, for the different sections spread across the mountain, one or two elevators will continue to operate. “In this way, the mobility of each section and bottlenecks are reduced,” adds the BSM report.
Not renewed since the Olympics
Spectators now go up to Montjuïc in the same way that the public did at the Olympics 31 years ago. The escalators that slide down the mountain are still the same ones that were installed in May 1992, brand new then for the Games. Barça committed to paying for the maintenance of the elevators while competing in the Lluís Companys.
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The City Council schedules the first works to replace the stairs in May 2024. If there are no delays, 12 will be replaced between September 2024 and April 2025. They are judged priority, either because of “greater impact on mobility” In the events that are concentrated in the area, the “number of incidents maintenance”, “reports from civic agents received” after massive events or “needs for the execution of the work itself”, the work plan is outlined. They will gradually come into service as they are installed, in accordance with the planning.
The City Council hopes that the complete renovation of the stairs will be completed at the beginning of 2026. At the same time, the movement of Barcelona fans to Montjuïc leads the council to allocate 1.72 million euros to place traffic lights in four steps and a whole crossing, seven cameras traffic control, two signs lane reinforcement variables, eight variable information signs and eight other luminous ones.