Barcelona’s Diagonal development consultation.

The Avinguda Diagonal, the majestic 19th-century avenue which divides the Catalan capital diagonally from east to west, is to be the object of an unprecedented public consultation process in view of plans to overhaul the road.

In February the city council will begin informing citizens about the issues involved, after which it will invite input and proposals from the public for their "ideal Diagonal". The year-long process of information gathering will culminate in the presentation of two alternative urban development projects for the Diagonal, with the aim of reducing private transport on the road (currently carrying an average of 100,000 cars per day) and introducing cycle paths, extra tram lines and widened footpaths.

In April 2010 all Barcelona residents from the age of 16 upwards - around one million citizens - will have the chance to vote electronically for the project they prefer, either from their home computers or in the special polling booths set up in each of the city