FC Barcelona and the City Council present sustainable mobility plan for partial return to Spotify Camp Nou
Today saw the FC Barcelona and Barcelona City Council Sustainable Mobility Plan presented, with a view to the partial return of sporting activity to the Spotify Camp Nou. The two main aims of the different measures are to speed up entry and exit to and from the Stadium, prioritising sustainable mobility, and to make it easier for local residents to access their homes, as such maintaining routes and space for pedestrians. In this sense, and within the framework of the Espai Barça Commission for Mobility Monitoring, the residents of Les Corts were also informed about all the details beforehand.
FC Barcelona’s return to the Spotify Camp Nou will be staggered. The first phase will see the Stadium operate at approximately 60% of the expected final capacity, holding a maximum of 65.000 spectators. The blaugrana home had a capacity of over 99,000 spectators before the refurbishment work began.
Those visiting the new Stadium are forecast to do so using the following methods:
• On foot: 23,695 people (36.5%)
• By car: 16,843 people and 7,018 vehicles (25.9%)
• By Metro: 11,160 people (17.1%)
• By motorcycle: 3,883 people and 2,678 vehicles (6%)
• By coach: 3,300 people and 66 vehicles (5.1%)
• By bus: 3,042 people (4.7%)
• By tram: 1,500 people (2.3%)
• By taxi: 1,296 people and 540 vehicles (2%)
• By Bicing: 176 people (0.3%)
• By bicycle and PMV: 104 people (0.2%)
Entry routes proposal
Exit routes proposal
The Sustainable Mobility Plan for the partial return to the Spotify Camp Nou is structured around the following areas – organisation of the different modes of transport, with particular attention to mobility on foot as it represents the biggest proportion, the exit of coaches, organisation of taxis, and access restrictions for private vehicles (motorbikes and cars) in areas where traffic can build up close to homes.
The Plan also ensures local residents can always access their homes using any mode of transport, including private vehicles, for those areas closest to the Spotify Camp Nou. Consequently and unless travelling to the Spotify Camp Nou car park, entry and exit routes for cars will be prioritised for the area bounded by Avinguda Diagonal, La Gran Via de Carles III, and Avinguda del Doctor Marañón, in order to enable access the different private car parks in this part of the Les Corts district. Furthermore, vehicles going to the Stadium car park will use Travessera de Les Corts, Avinguda de Joan XXIII, Avinguda del Doctor Marañón, and Carrer de Arístides Maillol.
When it comes to public transport, current services will be expanded, with three Metro lines (L3, L5, and L9S/L10S), three tram lines (T1, T2, and T3), and 10 city and inter-city bus routes (7, 33, 67, 54, H6, H8, V1, V3, V5, D20, and 113 and 175 – on workdays –).
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Traffic restrictions to Carrer Mejía Lequerica and around Carrer Felipe de Paz
One of the local residents’ requests was to set up controls over access to certain residential areas such as Carrer Mejía Lequerica and around Carrer Felipe de Paz, where there have been issues with traffic building up. As such, the Plan includes restricted access zones for those areas, which will come into force on matchdays and controlled using traffic cameras. The Les Corts District is currently going through the tender process to procure and install this technology.
Carrer Mejía Lequerica was used as a shortcut to avoid La Gran Vía de Carles III and the Travessera de Les Corts. The plan is to restrict traffic and only allow authorised vehicles access, such as residents, car park users, and public services. The restriction will apply to the entire street.
Additionally, traffic around the Carrer Felipe de Paz area, bordered by Travessera de Les Corts, Gran Vía de Carles III, Avinguda de Madrid and Carrer Riera Blanca, used to end up in a standstill on most matchdays due to people looking for parking for their vehicles. In order to improve and avoid this situation, four permanent traffic control points will be established to enable residents access on matchdays, with cameras on the bus lane going in the opposite direction of the Travessera de Les Corts, Carrer Benavent with Travessera de Les Corts and on Carrer Arizala with Carrer Felipe de Paz, and on the bus lane going in the opposite direction on Avinguda de Madrid.
Parking for motorcycles and keeping pavements for pedestrians
Within the sphere of influence of Espai Barça – a 1.5 km radius from the Stadium –there are parking places for 8,000 cars in underground car parks, plus 1,500 places on public highways. When it comes motorcycles, there will be around 3,000 parking places in the area of the Zona Universitària del Campus Sud. Please note that 1,000 of the places in this area are permanent, with 2,000 more added on matchdays. These additional parking places are included in the lot next to Parque de la Bederrida, which is currently housing a temporary public sports centre, and which will open as needed and on a temporary basis for motorcycle parking on matchdays.
Making parking available should help reduce antisocial behaviour and ensure pavements remain free for pedestrians, as mobility on foot is expected to account for the biggest proportion of visitors, while also ensuring it is a sustainable and safe way to access Spotify Camp Nou. In order to organise fan access to the Stadium by motorcycle and the flow of people, an information campaign will be run to ensure pavements are left free for journeys on foot, particularly for Avinguda de Joan XXIII, Travessera de les Corts, Gran Vía de Carles III, and Carrers Cardenal Reig, Arístides Maillol, and Mejía Lequerica. This campaign will be aimed at owners of motorcycles who don’t park in the regularly available city spaces in the city as well as on matchdays.
Cars and access for residents on Avinguda Xile
A second important point within the Sustainable Mobility Plan for the return to Camp Nou is that of the movement of traffic in and out of the area and the maintaining of access to homes for residents of the area. For that reason, it has been decided that coaches stop in the upper part of Carrer Martí i Franquès to allow passengers to get off, close to Avinguda Diagional, and that they should then park on FC Barcelona property on Avinguda Xile between Avinguda Doctor Marañón and Carrer Pintor Ribalta. For picking up passengers, they will move to Avinguda Doctor Marañón, occupying both lanes going away from the sea, to be able to leave and link with the central part of Aviguda Diagonal.
To allow this to take place, vehicle access will be restricted on Avinguda Doctor Marañón to guarantee access for the residents of Avinguda Xile to their homes, and an alternative route will be available on Avinguda Albert Bastardas, which will be signposted on Avinguda Diagonal for traffic entering Barcelona. More signposting will be available at the crossing of Gonzalez Tablas and Avinguda Diagonal.
Taxis and people with reduced mobility
With the aim of improving taxi service for on matchdays and avoid that these vehicles add to congestion and safety issues on Travessera de les Corts, the Sustainable Mobility Plan concentrates taxi points to one stop on Carrer de Menéndez y Pelayo, an area very close to Spotify Camp Nou with easy access to the stadium. The existing spaces available for public transport will be maintained both before and after the game.
The location in this area will allow taxis to move in all directions, towards Avinguda Diagonal to enter and leave the city by Carrers Martí i Franquès, Arístides Maillol and Riera Blanca.
In relation to vehicles for people with reduced mobility, there will be space reserved at the end of Carrer Martí i Franquès, close to Avinguda Joan XXIII, with more than 40 spaces proposed.
Improvement in traffic flow
The working sessions regarding mobility and transport by the ‘Comissió de Seguiment de l’Espai Barça’ have been particularly useful for gathering and evaluating requests and proposed solutions, with the idea of improving the pre-existing situations. As such, among the measures adopted is the change already carried out of making Carrer de Carles Ferrer i Salat two-way. This supposes an improvement for the area close to l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, reducing the volume of traffic at the Camí de la Torre Melina roundabout with Avinguda Xile. Therefore, the roundabout will be two way to improve traffic flow.
Improvement and transformation in Les Corts
The redevelopment of public space around the stadium forms part of the new plan worked on in conjunction with the City Council, FC Barcelona, residents and other organisations, in such a way that the transformation of the Espai Barça has positive effects on the quality of public space in the area. The work on Carrer Menéndez y Pelayo and Avinguda de Joan XXIII in coordination with the city council is one such example.
The idea is to create a large open public space around the stadium, removing the outside wall, the changes in levels, redeveloping the streets in the area to reorder access. Furthermore, new urban furniture was placed in the area, as well as a new, more efficient lighting system. Also, a new bicycle lane has been added along Avinguda de Joan XXIII and up to Plaça Pius XII at Avinguda Diagonal.