The sidewalks, which should be quiet places to walk and sit, are now the scene of a tough battle pitting pedestrians with scooters, parked motorcycles, riders by bike and vans from Amazon —and other companies— that go up to the curb “for a minute”. The war for this public space has led Paris to ban rental electric scooters —something that Barcelona and Valencia are already doing—, but it goes much further: these new players in urban mobility and terraces, which are constantly expanding, They represent an attack on walkers, who a century ago lost their right to use most of the city —given to cars. The experts in mobility and urbanism ask to rethink the capitals to put the walker in the center, while the pedestrian associations accuse the municipalities of not stopping the non-compliance.
“At the beginning of the 20th century, the arrival of cars in Spanish cities was an abrupt shock for citizens: they were going very fast, people were not used to it and there were many fatal accidents. Sidewalks were created and it was necessary discipline walkers, who before could walk throughout the city, to only move through that reduced space”, explains Nuria Rodríguez Martín, professor of Contemporary History at the Complutense de Madrid (UCM). “There is a parallel with the current situation: new vehicles appear, scooters, electric bikes, motorcycles, and they begin to compete for the pedestrian space, which is already small. And that alters coexistence”, continues this expert in urban history.
“Public space is a disputed space that represents the powers of the city”, adds Zaida Muxí, urban planner and professor at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB-UPC). “The pedestrian is always the last one, the one that matters least, despite the fact that we are all pedestrians at some point,” he continues. Rodríguez Martín resumes: “From the beginning, pedestrians have been disorganized, while the Royal Automobile Club of Spain (RACE) was created in 1903. The drivers have the support of strong pressure groups and it is believed that they contribute money (taxes, fines), while the stroller seems to contribute nothing”. In fact, the professor has verified that in the 1920s pedestrians were blamed for being run over and caricatures were even published in which pedestrians ran over cars.
David Lois, Professor of Social Psychology at the UNED, provides another idea: “Sidewalks have two functions, transit, because they facilitate walking, and estancia, because they allow you to rest. What makes a pleasant sidewalk is a generous width, that it is green, that it has trees, that allows sufficient isolation from road traffic, noise, pollution…”.
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What does it translate to? “Regarding the first, they must be accessible and facilitate direct and well-connected routes; if people perceive them that way, that makes them walk more. Regarding the second, the pedestrian space allows people to meet their neighbors, and this strengthens ties with the neighborhood and increases social trust; for this, benches designed for rest are needed”, continues the expert in mobility of Transit-UPM.
In general, the historic centers of most Spanish cities have experienced progressive pedestrianization processes —largely driven by tourism and gentrification—, which does not always mean more space for walking. A walk along Calle Atocha in Madrid, renovated in 2018 to “expand the pedestrian space”, exemplifies many of these evils: on the corner with Paseo del Prado, dozens of parked motorcycles block the way; there are also bicycles riders waiting to pick up orders, one of whom is pedaling down the sidewalk. Two scooters from a rental company remain lying on the ground, while a young man with headphones, riding another, speeds between the passers-by. A delivery van pulls up to the curb and its driver gets out to deliver a small package to a nearby address. The pedestrian space obtained after the reform is mostly occupied by the terraces of various bars and restaurants in the area. People walk in a hurry, they don’t feel like standing here. The only bench installed in this lower part of the road has no back, so nobody occupies it.
symptom of inequality
“The sidewalks are a great symptom of inequality,” criticizes the urban planner Antonio Giraldo. “They belong to all citizens, but not everyone can enjoy them in the same proportion: in general, there are wide and well-kept sidewalks in central or wealthy neighborhoods, but on the outskirts they often have to settle for narrow sidewalks, very deteriorated, that do not meet the basic accessibility criteria”, adds the now PSOE candidate for the capital’s City Council.
What are those criteria? According to Order TMA/851/2021 of the Ministry of Transport, to be accessible, all urban sidewalks must be at least 1.80 meters wide and you cannot park on them. That width is not met on many small streets, typically because it is preferred to maintain a car lane and parking strip rather than replace them with single-platform or pedestrian options—where roadway and sidewalk are at the same height and cars must circulate at most, 20 per hour.
Many city councils —such as those of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia or Zaragoza— allow motorcycles to park when the pedestrian space exceeds the width of three meters. However, those who park in tighter spots are not always penalized. The same happens with the parking of bicycles and electric scooters. It is not easy to obtain data on non-compliance on the sidewalks, since in the large consistories their powers are distributed among several departments (mobility, works, security, commerce…).
As an example, in 2022 Madrid fined 138,750 shared mobility vehicles for parking incorrectly (11,273 less than the previous year): 68.4% were scooters; 20.4% were motorcycles and 11.2% bicycles; Valencia penalized 11,914 vehicles (1,063 were motorcycles) and Bilbao did the same on 3,435 occasions; Malaga fined 4,554 vehicles (1,226 scooters). Barcelona, Zaragoza and Seville do not offer data.
Those scooters parked anywhere almost always belong to large companies. The problems generated in many cities have led some councils to not allow its use: this is the case of Barcelona, Valencia and Valladolid. “We are committed to walking and cycling. The scooter is a sedentary means, from door to door, and many of its users come from public transport. We are not interested, ”says a spokesman for the Valladolid City Council. In Madrid, on the other hand, 18 companies have operated for years, but since May 3 only three have permission to do so.
pedestrian mistreatment
while, the General Traffic Regulations, updated in 2022, prohibits scooters, bicycles and any other vehicle from circulating on the sidewalks. Something that keeps happening. “The current sidewalks are clear proof of the mistreatment that pedestrians suffer in public spaces, they are occupied by all kinds of vehicles and by terraces, which usually cover more than what the license allows,” denounces Sonia Jichi, president of walking, which brings together twenty Iberian pedestrian associations. “This situation is not accidental, but the result of policies that have allowed a car-centric urban design, based on giving more space to the private car and less to the walker. The universal pedestrian accessibility included in the Constitution is being despised by the administrations ”, he continues.
The journalist Charles Montgomery provides another clue in his recent Happy city (Captain Swing): Cars circulating at full speed on the road exert “a painful influence on the psychology of public space.” A study studied three identical streets in San Francisco but with different traffic intensities (low, medium and high), and verified that on the first street children played on the sidewalks and people stopped to chat, while on the second the social activity waned, and in the third there were virtually no social interactions.
Andando’s spokeswoman also denounces the little control that exists in most Spanish cities with the terraces of bars and restaurants: “Terraces are a privatization of public space, they are spreading more and more, and city councils should monitor their use, how many there are streets, that leave space to pass comfortably… There are terraces that occupy bus stops, space to walk, and that do not allow you to pass through some streets”. For example, in 2022 Madrid has imposed 1,820 sanctions on hoteliers for this reason; Valencia, 1,585; Saragossa, 300; Malaga, 205 and Bilbao, 78. Barcelona does not offer data.
Zaida Muxí believes that change will come, even if it costs: “There have been pedestrianizations in the historic centers of many cities; With the success they have had, it is surprising that it costs so much to widen sidewalks in other urban areas.” And he gives positive examples: “The city that is betting the most on this is Barcelona, which is making pedestrianizations inside the superblocks not only in tourist areas, but in all kinds of neighborhoods, turning what was asphalt into play spaces, of safe stay, with trees and without contamination. Valencia has also widened sidewalks with tactical urbanism, and they are doing the same in Paris, Vienna, Copenhagen… In the end it will spread”. For that, political will is needed. While it arrives, the walkers will have to continue fighting for their space.
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