Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. Anxious to combat the harmful consequences of overtourism, the Barcelona authorities have stepped up measures in recent years. But the latest one, told by our Spanish colleagues, has the merit of being innovative... and surprisingly effective.
Managed by Barcelona Metropolitan Transport (TMB), bus line 116 connects the Joanic metro station and the entrance to the famous Park Güell, further north. It thus prevents tourists and locals alike from having to climb to cross this district whose sloping streets can make a walk seem like a demanding physical test. But here's the thing: open from 6:40 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, this bus line designed for residents of the area is made up of minibuses, which can only accommodate around twenty travelers at most. Assailed by visitors wishing to go to the place imagined by Gaudi, the machines were therefore crowded, leaving local residents in the lurch. And this, despite an increase in the number of shuttles by the authorities.
After numerous complaints from local residents to the municipality, the latter finally decided to react, choosing a drastic solution.
“It is important to be able to eliminate
[line]
116 from the guidance tools that direct tourists to the park and eliminate references to line 116 on the Internet
,” the deputy mayor of Barcelona told a commission in in charge of security, Albert Batlle, quoted by
El País
. In other words, Internet users or visitors who query a tool like Google Maps or Apple Maps to find out how to get to Park Güell no longer see the bus line appear, and are therefore no longer tempted to take it. Enough to allow locals to reclaim this means of transport, now abandoned by day visitors.
Quoted by the Spanish daily, many Barcelona residents welcome this change which simplifies their lives. Initially doubtful, they noticed the disappearance, overnight, of the streams of users wishing to visit Parc Guëll. It remains to be seen whether this solution will remain effective in the long term, or whether tourists will not be fooled.
“The challenge that Park Güell must meet consists of finding the balance between tourist activity and social uses, especially so that residents of the closest neighborhoods can enjoy it in complete tranquility,”
writes, for his part , the institution on its site. A very delicate balance to find.