He briefly stepped into the breach when Barcelona’s summer-long multi-culti-fest Forum 2004 looked in danger of stalling at the planning stage, and it’s Ferran Mascarell who is rising to the defence of Barcelona’s new Àrea Verda city centre parking zones and heavy kerbside fees and fines. “Never before,” says Mascarell in his best Churchillian prose, “has a resident been able to park so quickly or so easily.”

Introduced in the Eixample and Old Town on 2nd May, the Àrea Verda scheme aims to reduce congestion and free up parking spaces. Teething problems included hundreds of parking meters vandalised or scrawled on, confusion regarding the new rules and the predictable accusation that the scheme is robbing citizens in order to cover debts incurred by the Forum (which nobody really believes has paid its way). Charges are steep, at 2.75 euros an hour, fines of 48 euros and tow-away bills for repeat offenders which can run into the hundreds.

Colour-coded kerbsides
Parking in the city centre now falls into three categories: green zones reserved for local residents, who pay one euro a week; other green zones limited to a one or two-hour stay, available to all, but where locals enjoy their fixed-price discount; and blue zones, the parking meter areas of old. There is now no free daytime parking whatsoever in central Barcelona. City parking is free (and a free-for-all) between 8pm and 8am.

Who benefits from Àrea Verda? Taxi drivers love it, of course; most residents will consider 52 euros a year cheap for easier kerbside docking; and number crunchers at La Caixa bank - owner of SABA, Barcelona’s biggest underground car park operators - are rubbing their hands in glee.

Biggest beneficiary by miles is City Hall: cashing in on meter fees is only part of the equation; in this, the land of second-home owners, thousands of Barcelona dwellers who currently register more cheaply for council rates in the municipality of their weekend retreat will have to empadronar themselves in Barcelona to qualify for their resident’s parking discount. Equally, their circulación (road tax) fee will have to be paid, at Spain’s most expensive rate, in Barcelona. Town halls all over Catalonia will lose revenue because of Àrea Verda. Big deal: their weekenders were cheating anyway. Speaking of which, let’s charge cars with Andorra number plates double the going rate…

Kerb rage
Who hates the new scheme? Car-loving commuters who are now forced into the hands of SABA and their like (or face the prospect of moving their car every two hours - not the most comforting digestif after one’s menú del día); out-of-towners who run their business in Barcelona, forced to pay the full meter rate even if they own the shop below the residents who get discount. Traders in the Eixample and Old Town have gathered 5,000 signatures in complaint, and claim that the city council has never discussed Àrea Verda with them. This seems a great shame, as it’s Barcelona’s botiguer shopkeepers, bar owners and trades suppliers who keep the place commercially vibrant. Ferran Mascarell appears to have overlooked these vital citizens, despite his boast that “Responsible government means listening to everybody”.

Residents of areas such as Sants and Gràcia are also aggrieved, often unable to park at home because their streets are full of commuters’ cars stationed just outside the Eixample to avoid charges.

Ferran Mascarell plays Àrea Verda objections down: “The implantation of the Àrea Verda scheme is going very well,” he declares. “It’s quite normal that there should be objections, as there are to any changes in this city.” Rather dishonestly, in the face of the petitions, Mascarell claims that as few as 100 demonstrators are opposed to the scheme, and that criticism is motivated by those who wish to “damage the electoral chances” of his PSC party.

Knock-on effects
Let them all take public transport then. Not quite so simple if you live in backwoods Vallromanes or Torrelletes, and towns with train stations are quickly seeing some undesirable consequences of Àrea Verda. The scheme might make daytime parking easier in Barcelona, but it’s becoming virtually impossible in the suburbs. The health clinic car park in Valldoreix, 100 yards from the train station, is full of park-and-ride commuters by 8.30 in the morning. Drive up with your mother’s cracked hip and you’ll search in vain for a parking space there, or for a quarter-mile around. Chaotic? Some drivers double-park on the roundabout, for St Christopher’s sake!

And while the swing to more public transport takes place, it has been pointed out that city centre residents, pretty much assured of a parking space on their return, are now tempted to take the car rather than public transport for any suburban or out-of-town trips.

One last cavil: the Ajuntament supports carpool initiatives, so it’s a pity they didn’t strike an Àrea Verda discount deal with car hire firms to encourage short-term car use rather than long-term ownership. City centre car rental doesn’t qualify you for the residents’ discount unless you lease/hire for three months or longer.