Every day, some 320,000 people suffer traffic jams to enter Barcelona. The odyssey to enter to the Catalan capital, for work or academic reasons, is accentuated when it comes to access by car. The long queues at the entrance and exit of the roundabouts, the C-31 or the Diagonal are common to first hour in the morning -especially between 7:00 and 9:00- and in the central hours of the afternoon. Stationary cars, accidents and retentions kilometers are the daily life of many people who access the city center during the week to study or work. “I have tried to come by car many times but in the end I have chosen to leave it at home, because every day ended up in one traffic jam or another. I prefer to take 40 more minutes and come by public transport,” says Alba Aguilera, a student from Esparreguera (Baix Llobregat), who also works in the city. “My classes and my work schedule coincide with the busiest times and the traffic to access is crazy. Also, I study in Poblenou and crossing the center at rush hour is practically impossible, especially if you’re looking for parking. in the end you finish paying for parking or coming by public transport even if that involves you waste more time on the way“, concludes Aguilera. Like her, there are many users who suffer the daily consequences of traffic in daily access to the Catalan capital.
a daily odyssey
Carlos Martínez lives in Mataró (Maresme), but works in El Prat (Baix Llobregat). In his case, he crosses Barcelona daily to get to his workplace and on weekends he returns to the city to shop or go for a walk. “When it comes to going down to downtown Barcelona, you don’t feel like going down by car. I usually I use my vehicle so much to go to work to go downtown but access is chaotic, especially on weekdays,” explained Martínez, a pilot by profession.
In the case of Norah Jiménez, a student from Palafolls (Maresme), she has decided to make an effort and move your residence to Barcelona. The trip from any point of the Maresme or the Selva to Barcelona involves daily traffic and traffic at the entrance of the city that often involve or get up much earlier to be able to enter before the retentions begin or resign yourself to the queues at the entrance on the C-31. “In the end, coming every day is tiring, because it’s not just the journey, but the queues you find, that is if you decide to come by car, because if you come by train it’s impossible to know when you’re going to arrive. That’s why I’ve decided to move to Barcelona “says the student. Furthermore, the difficulty of parking -and more free- is another of the problems that they meet once they get out of the chaotic traffic of the city. “As I study at Pompeu Fabra, I normally try to park in the Glòries Shopping Center parking lot because it has two hours free, but most of the time I have to pay something else because finding parking on the street is an impossible mission”, explained Jiménez resignedly.
An added difficulty
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The Low Emissions Zone (ZBE)In addition, it has meant that many of the drivers can no longer enter with their vehicles due to the restrictions, which makes access difficult for many residents outside the metropolitan area where public transport is scarcer. “Normally I go through the rounds, but on weekends I usually go down to the center to buy. Currently it is a problem for me to access, not only because of the queue that you find when entering the C-31, but also because I have a car that can no longer enter to the city due to the restrictions of the ZBE. I have to depend on my partner’s vehicle Or do I have to adapt to them? Schedule“, explains Carlos Martinez.
The lucky ones who have a motorcycle, as is the case with Sergio Barranco, they have found an alternative in the motorcycle to the car to be able to move. “My car, shortly, will no longer be able to enter the city. Among other things, that is why I decided to take the plunge and start using the motorcycle. It is true that in terms of comfort the car is much more comfortable, but in the end the raw time and losing so many hours a week in traffic jams and looking for parking ends up getting tiring”, explained this energy engineer, a resident of Santa Coloma de Gramenet.