Reurbanització de l´avinguda Jaume Carner [1a fase]

previous state

El Vendrell is a major town, commercial centre and point of communication between the inland and the Catalan coast. The Jaume Carner Avenue in the town had been, until the construction of an alternative route to the Barcelona – Valencia highway, a fast road at a tangent to the old town centre and parallel to the railway line. The road, along with the barrier effect of the railway line, had for many years caused a fracture in the municipal area and was a clear obstacle to its growth. The construction of the alternative route brought about a considerable lessening of its traffic, while the almost simultaneous construction on land between the avenue and the railway line gave rise to new urban areas on either side of the lines.

Despite the removal of the conditioning factors that had led to the avenue's being used as a main road, and the locating of a significant part of the town's facilities in the new residential areas to the east, the linking up of this area, both for pedestrians and for traffic circulation was still to be resolved.

aim of the intervention

In order to benefit from the possibilities opened up for the town at one of its main entry points by the freeing of the road, the Town Council planned to renovate and bring about improvements in the avenue with a view to the strategic role it could play in urban structuring. It was aimed to create a new central focus that, with its inclusion of three new public transport stations and new uses, would bring together, by providing new connections, the historic centre of the town and the residential areas on the other side of the road.

Renovation work on the Jaume Carner Avenue started in 2001 and is scheduled to be finalised in 2003. It is expected to stimulate the street's activities as a commercial and service area and to facilitate access to a number of parking areas planned for this part of the town.

description

The proposal for re-planning the avenue opted to adopt a scheme organised around two axes that crossed the town, the avenue itself and a newly-created thoroughfare that links the historic centre of the town with its commercial and service facilities, mainly sports and educational, in the areas located to the other side of the railway installations. Work on the project began in the centre area of the avenue that was remodelled in order to house a new bus station, and then continued towards each end. Since it was impossible to put the traffic lanes of the avenue below ground level, it was decided to maintain the difference in levels between the two facades, consolidating the original asymmetrical section.

Work on the western side consists in converting the existing façade into a tree-planted walk, concentrating the new uses in two presently unused free spaces adjoining the avenue: the meeting point with the Passeig de la Rambla in front of the railway station and library, and the market area near carrer d'Orient. In the former area, the construction of a new railway station closer to the lines enables the conversion of the old station into a civic centre that, with modifications to this section, now directly connects with the Passeig de la Rambla, under which a large parking area is to be constructed. In the market area, the existing subterranean passage beneath the railway lines has been redesigned as an exclusively pedestrian thoroughfare using ramps with planted banks to either side giving a heightened sense of continuity, both of itinerary and of character, with the new public thoroughfare on the other side that forms a transversal axis, cutting across the avenue to connect the centre of the town with the residential district of Pèlag.

On the eastern side, a planted embankment has been installed adjoining the railway lines, either as a vertical face or sloping bank, depending on the sections, in order to minimise the visual impact of the line and the noise of the trains. Existing trees have been conserved and new species planted. This green strip alternates with an indented wall and an advertising face that is designed as an extension to the transparent façade of the new railway station. The new bus station constructed in the centre of the avenue on this side is separated from the traffic lanes by with textured concrete panels offering an analogy to the solution of a fence adopted along the length of this edge, and acting as an acoustic screen that also discourages the appearance of graffiti. The new station consists of a projecting shelter contrasting with the vertical lines of tall lampposts that both form part of the structural support and underline the intention that the station should be a notable landmark in the avenue. A second bus station will also be constructed facing this new structure, on the opposite side of the avenue and beneath a municipal services building,. All the central area around the bus station is newly asphalted, with some areas paved with slabs of artificial stone. New urban fixtures have been installed along with lighting in order to guarantee a homogenous and sufficient degree of light at night-time. Along the length of the avenue, four roundabouts ensure connections with the surrounding roads and access to the new parking areas of the zone.

assessment

The remodelling of the road system and the new programme of uses envisaged for the avenue may represent a definitive move towards making good urban use of the starting point that the construction of the alternative road to national highway represented in the history of this avenue. The creation of three new elements of transport infrastructure has meant the construction of a new intermodal centre that improves general mobility for the population, in particular by integrating urban and regional public transport systems, an essential condition for bringing about better use of these kinds of transport.

When the work on remodelling the Jaume Carner Avenue in Vendrell is finished, its integration into the urban setting will be noticeably improved. The lack of connection between both sides of the railway lines will have been resolved, and functional shortcomings deriving from the absence of free routes, urban fittings and lighting, or from the presence of architectural barriers, will have been eliminated and safety problems arising from the formerly ill-defined delimitation of the transit lanes will no longer exist.

Mònica Oliveres i Guixer, architect