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Plaça de Sants works will disrupt neighbourhood mobility
The remodelling of Plaça de Sants and accessibility improvements at its metro station will require mobility to be reorganised at one of the neighbourhood’s busiest points. The works seek to add greenery, expand the children’s area and install lifts, but will also bring diversions, bus adjustments and changes to usual routes.
The City Council is working on solutions to prevent the area from becoming blocked during the works. Plaça de Sants is a key hub for residents, businesses, public transport and pedestrians, so any closure or change can quickly affect the entire Creu Coberta-Sants corridor.
One of the measures under consideration is extending the H10 route to cover some of the journeys that could be affected. The aim is for public transport to maintain a useful connection even if the works require changes to lanes, stops or routes.
The debate is complicated by its coincidence with the Obrim Carrers programme, which closes some sections to traffic at weekends to gain pedestrian space. On the Sants corridor, that measure already affects traffic and may add pressure when the works begin.
Laia Bonet, the municipal official responsible for Mobility, has defended ensuring a good bus connection as a priority during the intervention. BComú, on the other hand, calls for the council to preserve pedestrianisation between Plaça de Sants and Rambla de Badal without leaving public transport isolated.
The refurbishment also responds to a historic demand: making the metro station more accessible. Installing lifts will make daily use easier for older people, families with pushchairs, travellers with luggage and users with reduced mobility, at a stop that sees heavy traffic throughout the week.
For the neighbourhood, the coming months will require patience. Businesses, residents and transport users will have to live with barriers, machinery, changes to crossings and possible traffic adjustments. The key will be to provide good information and prevent alternatives from arriving late.
The transformation of Plaça de Sants sums up one of Barcelona’s major urban dilemmas: gaining public space and accessibility without collapsing everyday mobility. The result could greatly improve neighbourhood life, but the path to get there will depend on how the works, buses and pedestrians are managed in an area where every metre counts.