don pelayo street, badalona
Don Pelayo Street is located in the neighbourhood of La Salud, Badalona, just above the C31 motorway. It has an approximate length of 380 m and two distinct sections: between Bernat Metge St. and Escorxador St. it has a width of 20 m while between it and Marquès de Sant Mori Avenue it has 12 m.
In its original organization it had two lanes for ascending traffic between Bernat Metge Street and the Avenue of the Marquès de Sant Mori and one for descending only between l'Escorxador St. and Bernat Metge St. The sidewalks were around 2.50 m in this last fragment and around 1.50 m between Escorxador and Sant Mori. In the whole of the street, the ascending circulation lane closest to the west façade was often used as a parking lot, while between Bernat Metge and Escorxador there was a battery parking band next to the east sidewalk.
As usual in streets located in similar contexts, the proliferation of vehicles -in circulation or parked- dominated the image of the public space, leaving few options for the enjoyment of residents.
The new section of the project defines a single ascending lane of traffic in the whole of the street and keeps the descending lane between Escorxador and Bernat Metge. Parking strips are arranged on each of the sides and the alignment of the sidewalks is adjusted to widen them as much as possible as well as to facilitate their encounter with the immediate streets.
The intervention also involves the complete renovation of the sewer system and the burial of the telephone and electricity lines, which were aerial, as well as the construction of a new underground network of public lighting. The new luminaires use LED optics to improve their energy efficiency.
Thanks to these operations and to the introduction of trees and new furniture along the entire street, the new public space significantly improves its quality and offers unexpected possibilities to neighbours.