Residents of Barcelona raise their voices against night noise

Residents of the areas most affected by noise at night in the Catalan capital have gathered this Thursday in Plaça de Sant Jaume to ask the Barcelona City Council for solutions to the problem that they live in their neighborhoods, and that often does not let them sleep.

It is a phenomenon that drives those affected crazy, and despite the outrage it arouses, it has not been fully represented in the act, in which nearly 200 people have participated. Maybe the heat, maybe the weekday afternoon. In any case, those who have come have made quite a noise.

banners

The concentrates have shown banners that summarized the anger caused by the inconvenience, which are of a varied type: ‘Enough of incivility’; ‘Enough noise’; ‘Your party sucks’; ‘Stop bottle’; ‘Colau, Pallarols (by the president of the Gremi de Restauració), Collboni, do you sleep? They don’t let us’; ‘Silence, noise kills’.

In the square there were representatives of the neighborhoods and districts that suffer to fall asleep, and for reasons that are not always the same. There were people from Gràcia, Sant Martí, Eixample, Ciutat Vellaamong others.

Manifest

Michael Prats has acted in the act as spokesperson for the convening entity, the Xarxa Veïnal against Soroll, which brings together more than 20 groups from the different areas that suffer from noise at night.

Prats has given way to the actor Manel Barcelo, who has read the protest manifesto. Reading the text, Barceló has reviewed all the conflicts linked to the protesters’ complaints. “We ask for zero tolerance with large bottles & rdquor ;, he has proclaimed to widespread applause. The manifesto cites “the noise generated by the leisure of bars, terraces and nightclubs & rdquor ;, as well as that created by “the business of tourist flats & rdquor ;. The text also calls for limiting the practice of skateboarding, enforcing the civic ordinance, “preventing mobile discos & rdquor ;.

councilors

While Barceló read the manifesto, three mayors from the two local government groups watched the scene: the councilor of Gràcia, Eloi Badia; the one from Eixample, Pau Gonzàlez, and the socialist Joan Ramon Riera. Prats has given them the manifesto and the three have maintained a dialogue with some of the neighbors who have participated in the concentration.

“It is very fucked up not to sleep & rdquor ;, Prats has told the councilors. “We call the Urban Guard and they never come & rdquor ;, has lamented another of the concentrates. “What is the use of having ordinances if they are not followed”, a third party asked before the municipal representatives.

An alternative sound, by the way, made the protest against noise difficult: on a corner of Sant Jaume, near the access to Plaça de Sant Miquel, an orchestra was playing while a small group of sardanistas danced to the music.

At 7:30 p.m., the concentrates have begun to dissolve. It is the first time that the entities created to combat night noise manifest themselves. And from what some of the attendees explained, it will not be the last. The neighbors have raised the tone against the consistory because they consider that much more resounding measures can be taken against the phenomenon and also because in several points the inconvenience has increased after the pandemic.

The city council insists that it is on top of the issue, and advocates a plan that, in principle, must provide different solutions for each of the problems. In the case of the bottle, the neighbors ask for more and higher fines, and that the ordinance that prohibits drinking alcohol on the street be complied with.

Related news

In the case of the terraces, they claim advance closingsomething that generates division in the government: Barcelona en Comú does not rule it out and the PSC says that it is not a measure that is contemplated.

entities

The manifesto is signed by a notable group of entities, which by their nature reveal the extent to which the nighttime noise problem is widespread: Xarxa Veïnal del Raval; SOS Enric Granados; Platform Places de Gràcia; Sleep Tranquils Eixample Dret; SOS Ronda Sant Pere; Platform for Noise Contamination and Mass Effects of Events (PACAME); SOS Poblenou Gulf Triangle; Poble Sec alert; Neighborhood Association of the Barri Gòtic; of the Casc Antic; Fountain of the Guatlla; of the Raval; The Park and La Llacuna; Stop Concerts; Raval No Ressignat; AVV Sant Genis del Agudells; AVV Horta; AVV Baix Guinardó; AVV El Poblenou; AVV La Satalia; FABV, residents of Obradors street, Escudellers, George Orwell square, Sant Miquel square and Drassana street.