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Measures to adapt public spaces during the health emergency caused by Covid-19

During the application of the Royal Decree concerning the state of emergency, the Covid-19 health crisis led to an extraordinary, anomalous mobility situation, with up to an 80% reduction in the volume of private transport and a 95% drop in public-transport journeys. The number of journeys made by city residents has gradually returned to normal during the various phases of easing restrictions. However, the recuperation of individual motorised transport modes was faster than that of collective transport.

For this reason, Barcelona City Council promoted a series of measures to transform the city's public spaces, with the aim of making Barcelona a healthier, more human place, where distances are shorter. Some of these measures have been maintained, with the aim of improving peaceful coexistence and road safety.

The government measure “A new sustainable mobility in a new public space” was approved, with the aim of favouring safe, sustainable and efficient mobility, on foot, by public transport and by bicycle.

At the same time, a series of initiatives in public spaces was promoted, so that journeys within the city could be made as safe as possible, in order to protect people's health and use non-polluting means of transport.

This range of initiatives included the widening of pavements, improvements to bus lanes, new bicycle corridors and traffic restrictions on 34 secondary roads. At the same time, all the city's public transport was adapted in order to comply with protocols for disinfection and crowd control, in accordance with the preventative measures. 

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