Gravina street, in the Chueca neighborhood.
Those of Velarde, San Andrés and Barco, in modern Malasaña.
And at least five others in Lavapiés, including the 400-meter road that gives the area its name.
All these streets are in the Centro district of Madrid and in all of them the cobblestones of the road have been replaced by asphalt: the material that gives off the most heat in summer.
One of the last to undergo
surgery
has been that of Miguel Servet, which has been under construction for three weeks and has just been re-released.
The change has been accompanied by complaints from residents ―they criticize that cars now drive faster and exceed the limit of 30 kilometers per hour― and from urban planning experts, who warn of the problems of replacing the stone pavement with a material so little permeable
Already during the government of Manuela Carmena, between 2015 and 2019, it was tried to replace the paving with printed asphalt in some downtown streets, but it was during the legislature of José Luis Martínez Almeida when more operations of this style have been promoted since the Department of Works and Equipment of the City Council.
"The largest 'asphalt operation' in the history of Madrid", boasts the City Council itself through constant notes.
It has been for a long time.
Every year, the Consistory raises the stake: more budget for paving and more streets in the city where to do it.
In the last three years, 182 million euros have been invested in paving 2,843 roads in the capital, according to the municipal website.
The last 'asphalt operation' is that of 2022 and, unless that of 2023 exceeds it, it is the largest in history so far: 62.2 million euros, 1,080 streets and 480,000 tons of asphalt mixes.
The renovated roads include those that were already covered by this material and required repair, but also many that were paved until now.
Today I checked the status of the asphalt operation on Lavapiés street.
We promised to improve #DistritoCentro and we are fulfilling it.
Thanks to the Works and Equipment Area!
Which has launched the largest asphalt operation in the history of Madrid.
pic.twitter.com/IixKCfgc0W
– José Fernández Sánchez (@fernandezsj) February 8, 2023
"You would have to see the mixtures of products used, but on paper, asphalt is worse than cobblestone," Pablo Olalquiaga, vice dean of the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM), points out by phone.
One of the reasons, he indicates, is that it absorbs more heat: "Cobblestones have greater thermal inertia [how much heat they can retain and the speed with which they release or absorb it], so they expel the accumulated heat more slowly and there is less effect rebound".
With the stone paving, the sensation of muggy and "stagnant" air in cities is reduced, which is more pressing during summer heat waves.
Irene Rodríguez Lorite, architect and urban planner, explains that an asphalt surface "increases the temperature between three and four degrees": "A very large layer of hot air is formed that prevents the hydrothermal balance."
As if there was a cloud right above the sidewalk, which never dissipates and makes it difficult for the air to regenerate.
Fernando Polo, also an architect and resident of the center of Madrid, agrees with Lorite and Olalquiaga.
“Lavapiés, for example, is an old neighborhood, with very narrow streets and little public space, such as parks.
In summer there is hardly any air.
The city collects heat during the day and projects it at night, making sleeping hell.
If you add asphalt, everything gets worse, ”he comments.
less permeable material
“For construction projects in open public spaces, surfaces that allow water to pass must be used.
This asphalting goes against the regulations”, criticizes Lorite.
It refers to the ordinance for the Management and Efficient Use of Water in the City of Madrid, in force since 2006. Article 8 specifies that "in all urbanization actions" "permeable surfaces" must be used and "impermeable occupation" minimized. ” where strictly necessary.
In the standard, the following are considered permeable: gravel, sand, ceramic materials, porous, tiles, cobblestones or cobblestones.
It does not mention the asphalt, but it does add that on sidewalks with a width greater than a meter and a half, 20% of the surface, "at least", must be permeable.
Also that the fines for violating this point of the ordinance range between 600 and 30,000 euros.
Printed asphalt placed on Calle del Amparo, in the Madrid neighborhood of Lavapiés, on March 2, 2022. Lucia Pardo
A spokesperson for the Works and Equipment area stresses that replacing paving stones with printed asphalt is something that "the previous government team has already implemented": "It means greater comfort for pedestrian traffic, less rolling noise and better conservation , since it extends the life of the pavement and allows a faster replacement”.
A street with this material can be fixed in one night, while changing the paving can take weeks or months, causing traffic interruptions and affecting mobility, adds the spokesman.
Olalquiaga qualifies that for it to last longer, the asphalt must be “of very good quality”: “In some cases, the roads [such as Calle de la Cruz] have begun to dismember shortly after being paved.
It is not a good indication in favor of the quality of the material used”.
And he believes that a better installed paver, which can withstand wheeled traffic without lifting, can last for years.
“When [the City Council] talks about durability, they're really talking about reducing costs,” he adds.
The City Council has not responded to questions from this newspaper about whether asphalt, compared to other materials, reduces spending.
Holes in Calle de la Cruz, in the Barrio de las Letras, with the printed asphalt already worn.
Lucia Pardo
streets without identity
The three architects warn that the supposed improvement in pedestrian traffic brings with it another harm: it facilitates the movement of vehicles.
“It avoids stumbling blocks, because the cobblestone is an irregular surface and makes traffic difficult.
But that's good, because it reduces the speed of the cars”, says Polo.
Olalquiaga considers that, in a cobbled area, the driver "feels a little more intruder" and that "the noise itself when stepping on the cobblestone generates a greater sensation of speed and discourages the vehicle from going even faster," he adds.
That is one of the complaints that Manuel Osuna, president of the La Corrala neighborhood association, has received the most since the paving of new streets in Lavapiés began weeks ago.
“The underlying problem is the large-tonnage trucks, passing by all day.
In other historic centers it is not like that ”, he criticizes.
Osuna says that opinions among residents have been divided, but now the general feeling is that they would have preferred "a new well-placed cobblestone" to printed asphalt.
For the vice dean of COAM, the patrimonial question is also essential: "It is an aesthetic loss for the city to replace the cobblestone, which was recovered because that is how the pavements were originally."
Lorite agrees and regrets that these changes "move Madrid away from the trends towards which other cities are more friendly to pedestrians."
Polo resigns himself: "In the end we will live in streets without identity, with infernal heat and where the cars circulate faster."
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