Barcelona residents call for pedestrianization of city center streets during Christmas
Neighbors group points to traffic chaos when swathes of people take photos on Passeig de Gràcia when lights go red
Passeig de Gràcia is one of the most iconic streets in Barcelona any time, but even more so at Christmas with the lights up, compounded even further by this year being the street's 200th anniversary.
Yet, this has led to an uncomfortable situation among many locals when everybody wants to get their photograph taken in this beautiful scene.
Amid an increased flow of traffic, as more people are walking around the city center shopping as well as driving to certain stores, there are scenes of chaos as the pedestrians take to the streets more and more when the traffic lights go red.
Some neighbors have had enough, and are calling on the authorities to pedestrianize some streets for the Christmas season that receive a greater influx of visitors.
The aim is to have a "fume-free holiday season," responding to this increase in traffic.
At the same time, it wants to meet the public's demand to use the public space, which, according to the Eixample Respira neighbors association, is obvious by "what happens every day in Passeig de Gràcia."
The group would also like to see Rambla Catalunya, Carrer Pelai, Plaças Universitat, Catalunya and Urquinaona, and the sides of Gran Via in the sections where the Fira de Reis takes place all pedestrianized.
The collective explained that they believe cars should be blocked off from these spaces during the hours when there are more people in the area: evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Their proposal is akin to what already happens as part of the Open Streets initiative on the streets of Sants-Creu Coberta and Gran de Gràcia.
They also believe this idea could attract more people to the center of Barcelona and be beneficial for businesses, while also providing cleaner air for everybody to enjoy.