Imatge
Imatge
The Park Güell Strategic Plan will continue in the period 2023-2026 with a planned investment of at least 15 million euros. The aim is to improve the social return of the park in the city and to continue preserving the architectural and natural heritage.
The measures implemented up to now have halved the number of visitors and raised the numbers of local residents using the space thanks to the free access they are entitled to.
These actions have led to a social return which will be used, with 50% of the investment, to launch new initiatives aimed at improving the park and its surroundings. So, various interventions will be carried out, up to 2026, in the El Coll, La Salut, Vallcarca i els Penitents, El Carmel and Can Baró neighbourhoods, in the districts of Gràcia and Horta-Guinardó. To be more specific, the initiatives will be as follows:
Initiatives in Gràcia
- Redevelopment of C/ Coll del Portell
- New park at La Font del Carbó
- Urbanisation of C/ Torrent del Remei
- New passages: Pare Alegre – Antequera, Pícnic Park Güell at junction with Marianao and Passeig de Turull at junction with Coll del Portell
Initiatives in Horta-Guinardó
- Redevelopment of C/ Albert Llanas and C/ Miquel dels Sants Oliver
- Redevelopment of Plaça de Raimon Casellas
Work will also continue during this period to reduce the impact of the high density of visitors and to improve mobility through exclusive online sales, the strengthening of the “Gaudir més” program and promoting the mobility work group as a proposal and decision-taking space.
As for greenery and biodiversity, 25% of the investment will go towards protecting the park’s architectural and nature heritage. A research and dissemination programme will therefore be set up, called “Fem Park”, and the Coll del Portell Social Space and Work Centre will be launching initiatives to consolidate the space as a cultural site for organisations from the surrounding neighbourhoods and setting up a new museum discourse, among other things.
The plan will enjoy continuity until 2026 and will coincide with the events commemorating the anniversary of Antoni Gaudí's death and the start of the opening of the park as a public site.
A park for Barcelona’s residents
The first stage of the Strategic Plan for 2018-2022 was achieved through over two hundred initiatives aimed at reducing the impact of mass tourism in the park and its surroundings, fostering its community use and improving mobility, creating a park with a living cultural heritage and drafting a new governance model. More than 8.5 million were invested in initiatives during that period, including:
- Creation of an extensive cultural offer both inside and outside the park
- Activities aimed at schools and city residents and sports activities
- Traffic calming in the Olot, Mercedes, Marianao and Sant Josep de la Muntanya areas
- Improvements to Font Sarva
- Artificial grass in the El Carmel football pitch
- Replacement of the escalator in the Baixada de la Glòria section
- Expansion of the Bosc Turull Environmental Classroom
- Renovation of Escola Baldiri i Reixac, the Consol Canals viewpoint and Plaça de la Natura
- Mechanisation of the El Carmel gate
- Redevelopment of C/ Alguer
- Self-care plan
- Improvement of the area surrounding Font de Sant Salvador and the adjacent steps
- Incorporation of existing cultural and artistic initiatives in the neighbourhoods within Park Güell
In addition, the process for obtaining free daily entry tickets has been simplified and made more accessible for all officially registered Barcelona residents and a series of measures have been implemented aimed at reducing the site’s load capacity. Before the pandemic, Park Güell used to receive nine million visits a year. Since its reopening in the summer of 2020, the park has seen measures implemented to limit its load capacity to a maximum of 4.5 million a year and reduce the pressure from tourists.
Regulated access by time slots, some with exclusive access for local residents and schools and for everyone registered with “Gaudir més”, has also helped to reduce the high number of visitors. Since these measures were first launched, close to 60,000 people currently visit Park Güell free of charge every month.
As for mobility, among other initiatives, the bus platform regulation has been activated, car parking outside the park’s opening times has been restricted and five coach parking places and five coach pick-up and drop-off places have been removed.