The Parliament, a benchmark that wants to lead by example
Mobility is a key element in the functioning of any public institution. But when we talk about the Parliament of Catalonia, this challenge takes on a special dimension. The institution receives hundreds of workers, deputies, external services, and visitors every day, and is at the same time an emblematic facility, located in a heritage space as unique as Ciutadella Park.
For this reason, the new Business Travel Plan (BTP) is not just a technical instrument; it is an opportunity for the Parliament to exercise exemplary leadership in the transformation towards more sustainable, safe, and healthy mobility, in line with the objectives of Barcelona’s Urban Mobility Plan and air quality decree 132/2024.
Current challenges
Despite the good public transport offer and the privileged location in the center of Barcelona, there are structural challenges that affect the Parliament’s mobility.
Although the park offers a network of traffic-calmed paths, the current cul-de-sac configuration and deficiencies in paving and lighting affect safety and the perception of comfort, especially during low-light hours. The BTP has detected that a significant number of women have experienced or perceive situations of insecurity on the park’s internal routes.
Currently, the precinct has its own parking spaces inside Ciutadella Park, located at the building’s entrance. This parking offer generates high use of private vehicles and creates a significant visual impact on the surroundings of the Parliament and Ciutadella Park. The need to rationalize this resource is key to reducing emissions and improving mobility around the park.
Improving accessibility and safety there is essential to promote active travel, connection with public transport, and the surrounding public parking facilities.
The new access from Wellington Street, a decisive opportunity
Within this framework, the municipal project to open a new access to Ciutadella Park from Wellington Street is probably the transformation with the greatest impact on the Parliament’s mobility.
Currently, the building is located in a corner of the park, and any journey on foot or by public transport requires going around the Zoo or following indirect routes. With the new opening, planned within the framework of the park’s major renovation between 2025 and 2026, the Parliament will:
- No longer be in a cul-de-sac and will be better connected to the city both on foot and by private or public bicycle
- Have direct access to the university area, the Wellington cycle network, and the future offerings linked to the Fish Market
- Facilitate radically reordering its mobility, including parking management
- See the safety of pedestrian routes reinforced, with more natural flow of people and more informal surveillance
A more open, sustainable, and healthy Parliament
The Parliament’s PDE proposes a realistic yet ambitiously transformative roadmap.
The combination of new parking management, improved pedestrian access, increased security, promotion of public transport and cycling, and especially the urban opportunity presented by the new Wellington access, will enable more sustainable mobility for everyone who works at or visits the Parliament.
The Parliament of Catalonia is in a position to become an institutional benchmark in sustainable mobility: not only due to regulatory or environmental obligation, but because this change improves the health, comfort, safety, and daily experience of all individuals who are part of this institution, as well as the entire Ciutadella Park.
