Economy
Plans For a Bike-Friendly Boulevard Are Met With Anger, Protests in Spain
Outcry over irresponsible spending on a beautification project have led to 40 arrests in the city of Burgos already.
The northern Spanish city of Burgos has been hit by five days of demonstrations and riots this week. Protestors in the working class district of Gamonal have been fighting riot police since Saturday, putting up barricades and setting trashcan fires, leading to 40 arrests.
The level of unrest aside, what makes these riots so unusual is the specific object of protestors' ire. Plans to turn the district's main street into a traffic-calmed, bike-friendly boulevard with subterranean parking have caused an outcry that has turned explosive. Given that many cities would welcome this sort of plan, the level of anger is striking. Why is the boulevard being resisted so bitterly?