ADENC and BiTer have filed objections against the rehabilitation project of the Portal de Sant Roc car park, in Terrassa, considering that its reopening and functional expansion clash with the environmental and sustainable mobility commitments made by the City Council. The project was approved by the municipal plenary in February.
The two entities place the equipment in the city center and within the scope of the Low Emission Zone, a point they consider central to their rejection. In their writing, they maintain that the action would encourage the entry of private vehicles into the urban center and that this contradicts the purpose of the ZBE itself, conceived to reduce air pollution linked to road traffic.
Criticism for environmental impact and mobility
In their allegations, ADENC and BiTer maintain that the intervention represents a commitment contrary to the climate, environmental, and mobility commitments that the council has assumed in recent years. They add that an infrastructure of these characteristics represents a regression with respect to the environmental protection levels that the ZBE should guarantee.
The entities also report that the project does not incorporate any environmental impact study or sufficient assessment of the effects it could have on air quality, population health, noise, traffic, or the use of public space.
In that same document, a possible conflict with the commitments made by Terrassa in the European Covenant of Mayors for Energy and Climate is also pointed out. The allegations also cite the Action Plan for Sustainable Energy and Climate and the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, instruments that, they recall, aim to reduce emissions and promote travel on foot, by bicycle, and by public transport to move towards a healthier and more peaceful city.
Doubts about the profitability of the project
Another of the axes of the challenge focuses on economic viability. ADENC and BiTer denounce the lack of financial solidity of the operation and warn of the risk that it ends up being a significant burden on public resources.
According to their statements, the studies commissioned by the City Council conclude that the car park would only be profitable in a very high demand scenario. From there, the entities question whether the need to create a new large parking infrastructure in the middle of the ZBE has been adequately justified, even more so when they recall that Terrassa already has several car parks in the center.
Call to reopen the debate
The allegations frame the project in a city where residents of streets like Arquímedes and Galileu are demanding a reduction in traffic. For ADENC and BiTer, this reality reinforces the need to review an action that, in their opinion, goes against neighborhood demands and the city's mobility objectives.
Both entities have asked the City Council to reconsider the project and open a real debate on the future of Portal de Sant Roc, with priority for alternatives consistent with the climate emergency, public health, traffic reduction, and Terrassa's sustainable mobility commitments.