The new by-law on circulation comes into force on 1 February
The new by-law, which includes fines of up to 500 euros, aims to preserve pavements as spaces for pedestrians by prohibiting personal mobility vehicles and bikes from circulating on them, except for children with bikes and adults accompanying them.
The new by-law on circulation, pedestrians and vehicles (OCVV) comes into effect on Saturday, 1 February. The amendment brings the regulations into line with the national framework and ensures coexistence, road safety and protection for pedestrians in the streets of the city. Fines of up to 500 euros may be applied.
Clearer regulation of personal mobility vehicles
Personal mobility vehicles (PMV) will be defined as unipersonal, meaning they can only circulate with one person, with some essential safety elements also established: the use of helmets is obligatory and the vehicle must have front and rear lights.
The existing regulations already prohibit the use of PMVs by people under the age of 16 and limits their use to bike lanes and streets with 30 km/h speed limits or less. The amendment makes it clear that these vehicles may not travel in excess of 25 km/h, and 10 km/h in bike lanes on pavements.
Pavements for pedestrians
The new text prohibits PMVs and bikes from circulating on pavements, making these exclusively for use by pedestrians. As an exception, adults transporting children with authorised systems (trailers and child-seats) or accompanying children up to the age of 12 will be able to circulate on pavements. Children under 14 can also do so, as well as adults transporting children if there is no bike lane.
In any event, riders of PMVs and bikes are still obliged to get off their vehicles in crowded spaces shared with pedestrians.
New restrictions on parking motorcycles on pavements
In addition to the prohibition on parking motorcycles on pavements in areas outside schools and hospitals, the by-law on circulation, pedestrians and vehicles includes fines for parking in front of entrances reserved for pedestrians, bike lanes and waste containers. The recommendation is still to park motorcycles on road surfaces.
Regarding cycles and PMVs used for urban goods distribution, these can use loading and unloading areas under the same conditions as all other motor vehicles. At the same time, there is a specific prohibition on any type of vehicles using bike lanes for loading or unloading.
Fines
The new regulations also introduce fines to guarantee compliance with the established measures, detailed in the leaflet on the new mobility regulations. The new by-law can be found in the Barcelona City Council Open Knowledge Repository.


