Barcelona says, little by little, goodbye to motorcycles on the sidewalks. In one of the cities with the highest number of motorcycles per inhabitant in Europe, finding these vehicles parked on the sidewalks is a common sight that will soon cease to be so.
Since February 1, the new Traffic Ordinance has made it possible to mark 71 prohibited parking spaces for motorcycles. Now, the city council is marking 325 more (70 of them near schools and hospitals), which will be added to the 4,047 already in place.
Thus,when these works are finished, Barcelona will have a total of 4,372 stretches of sidewalk where motorcycles will not be allowed to park.
Where can motorcycles park?
To alleviate the lack of parking that motorcycles will presumably experience , the city council is looking to expand parking on the road. The council says that 2,500 new parking spaces have been created so far this term and that the objective is to reach 40,000 additional spaces by 2030, adding to the existing 90,000.
In addition, 296 schools and 29 hospitals are expected to be signposted in the coming months to regulate parking in their surroundings.
What does the Traffic Ordinance say about motorcycle parking?
The modification of the Ordinance for the Circulation of Pedestrians and Vehicles (OCVV), which came into force last February 1, incorporated the accesses to schools and hospitals as prohibited parking areas. According to the regulations, motorcycles should be parked preferably on the roadway in designated parking spaces, and when not prohibited, they may park on sidewalks more than 3 meters wide where there are no loading and unloading spaces, parking spaces for people with reduced mobility or bicycle parking.
If parking is permitted, it must be half a meter from the curb and parallel to it if the sidewalk is less than six meters wide, and in a semi-battery if the width is greater than six meters. In all cases, a free space of at least 3 meters must be left for pedestrians.
Likewise, the new ordinance explicitly prohibits parking in spaces adjacent to bicycle parking spaces, at pedestrian crossings, in bicycle lanes and when it obstructs the use of containers. At the same time, it also incorporates the prohibition of tying these vehicles to trees, traffic lights, benches, containers, litter garbage cans and transport shelters, as well as to other elements of urban furniture when the passage of pedestrians or the use and functionality of the element is hindered.
More than 700 fines in two months
Since January 1, the City Council has imposed 717 fines for parking motorcycles improperly on sidewalks. These penalties range from 50 to 100 euros. At the same time, the council has launched an information campaign aimed at motorcyclists, with visits to schools and hospitals, which will run until March 15 to ensure better compliance with the regulations.