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Fewer cars and more pedestrian space: this is how Alfons XIII will change in Badalona
Alfons XIII Avenue is beginning to change after years of accumulating traffic, worn-out tarmac and pavements poorly designed for walking. Work is already under way and will transform one of Badalona's main entry and exit routes, a road used every day by thousands of cars, buses and residents travelling between Barcelona, Sant Adrià and Santa Coloma.
The project particularly affects neighbourhoods such as Congrés, La Salut, Can Claris and Gorg, where the avenue has functioned for decades more as a traffic boundary than as a neighbourhood space. Now the idea is precisely the opposite: reduce speed, gain pedestrian space and make the area more liveable.
The most visible change will be the reduction in lanes. Where four lanes for cars have dominated until now, there will be two, freeing up space for wider pavements, trees and new cycle lanes connected with Sant Adrià and Barcelona. Lighting, sewers and some street furniture will also be renewed.
The refurbishment also comes after more than 25 years without a major intervention on this avenue. On many stretches, residents and traders had long been reporting maintenance problems, noise and a sense of neglect on one of the municipality’s most important arteries.
The works will be carried out in phases and will last several months, something that will inevitably affect local mobility. There will be traffic changes, slower traffic and disruption in the surrounding area as the work progresses, especially at access points near the C-31 and the Santa Coloma road.
Behind the project there is also a very clear change in the urban model. Badalona, like Barcelona and other metropolitan municipalities, is trying to transform former roads designed almost exclusively for cars into more balanced spaces, where walking, cycling or simply spending time is easier.
Avinguda Alfons XIII sums up that transition very well. For years it was a harsh, noisy road designed to cross the city quickly. The refurbishment seeks to turn it into something else: a greener, slower thoroughfare, more connected with the everyday life of the neighbourhoods around it.