The city of Tortosa is celebrating European Mobility Week from today, September 16, to September 22. The initiative combines awareness-raising activities with the opportunity to directly test new measures on the city streets, aiming to advance towards safer and more sustainable mobility while gathering feedback from various groups.
Mayor Mar Lleixà highlighted that the week will serve to "experiment, observe, and listen," going beyond simple awareness. The goal is to evaluate which of the initiatives tested during these days could be continued, as sustainable mobility should be a constant, not just a one-off action.
One of the main actions is ‘Same Streets, Different Week’, which will involve the temporary pedestrianization of Cervantes street. Traffic will also be temporarily restricted in an area bounded by Ricard Cirera, Teodor Gonzàlez, and Sant Ildefons streets, and Emili Sanz and Ramon Cabrera squares. This measure aims to foster reflection on the potential uses of public spaces and to reclaim areas for pedestrians.
The program includes ‘Agafa el Bus’ (Take the Bus), in collaboration with Hife. This Wednesday, schoolchildren had the chance to learn about one of the company's new buses, displayed in the Mercat square, and take a ride on the Carrilet Verd, Tortosa's tourist electric train. The bus will remain open to the public to provide information about the service and the new vehicles.
Educational centers are also participating with the initiative ‘100 meters without cars in front of school’, featuring traffic closures coinciding with school drop-off and pick-up times at the Teresianes and Sant Llàtzer schools. The ‘Little Traffic Agents’ activity will be repeated, where schoolchildren accompany Local Police officers. The program is rounded off with a school drawing contest and subsequent award ceremony.
Elderly residents are involved through ‘Walk the City with Grandparents’. Participants from the Ferreries Civic Center and La Caixa Center will tour different routes to identify obstacles that hinder pedestrian movement, such as narrow sidewalks, lack of resting benches, or insufficient traffic light times.
Finally, Tortosa will temporarily mark ‘Walking Routes’ in the city center, indicating the approximate time needed to reach amenities like health centers (CAP), the City Hall, the train station, the market, schools, and sports facilities on foot. The week will culminate on September 22 with Car-Free Day, urging citizens to leave private vehicles whenever possible and opt for walking, cycling, or public transport.
