Less 40,000 cars, less parking, less 60,000 tons of CO2, 4.6 hectares more pedestrian areas, 5.7 km more bike lanes, buses from Marquês to downtown with 3-minute frequencies, more night buses.
Approximately 100 thousand vehicles circulate daily in downtown Lisbon, a number that the Lisbon City Hall wants to reduce by 40%. The project is ambitious and will involve critical arteries of the city such as the Avenidas da República and Almirante de Reis, but also other areas in the vicinity. In June of this year, traffic restrictions will begin to be put into practice. The groundwork on the streets, avenues and squares will follow.
There are some exceptions: electric cars will have free access, TVDEs (Uber, Bolt...) only if they are electric, a maximum of 100 tuk-tuks will be allowed to circulate downtown. Tourist buses will be barred. Residents will be entitled to 10 invitations per month that they can give to visitors. All on-street parking downtown will be exclusive to residents; shopkeepers will have access to loading and unloading zones; visitors will be able to use the underground parks that exist in the area, such as the recent one in Campo das Cebolas.
With the new Avenida-Baixa-Chiado ZER, the Lisbon City Hall estimates to reduce 60 thousand tons of CO2/year, add 4.6 pedestrian hectares and create 5.7 km of bike lanes. The Avenidas da Liberdade and Almirante de Reis will be upgraded. On the former, the sidewalks will be widened, the number of parking spaces will be reduced (but the number of rotating spaces will be increased), a cycle lane will be created on each side, the traffic direction will be reorganized and the "Passeio Público" between Praça da Alegria/Rua das Pretas and Restauradores will be recreated. In the second, the descending lane will lose a lane to gain a bidirectional bike lane.
Chiado will be almost entirely pedestrianized, including Largo do Chiado and Largo Camões; Rua da Prata will become a pedestrian street with a tramway. Green zones will be created in Rua Nova do Almada and in Rua Garrett, with the help of urban furniture. Areas such as Rua dos Fanqueiros, Largo das Belas Artes, Rua de São Pedro de Alcântara, Rua da Misericórdia, and Largo do Chafariz will also be improved to give priority to pedestrians and public transportation. Although there are already images, the architectural projects are not yet finished. The Avenida-Baixa-Chiado ZER will coexist with the so-called Conditional Access Zones (ZAAC), which already exist in Bairro Alto, Bica or Castelo.
At the presentation of ZER Avenida-Baixa-Chiado, that took place this Friday, January 31st, the Mayor, Fernando Medina, referred that "international models are good for inspiration but bad for copying".adding that Lisbon adopted a model adjusted to its city and reinforcing that one of the objectives is to create more life, commerce and work in the downtown area. Cities like London, Madrid, Oslo, Barcelona, and Paris have introduced measures to get cars out of central areas, either by charging for access or by converting streets into pedestrian space.
Medina referred to Lisbon's commitments to reduce CO2 emissions by 60% by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The Mayor of Lisbon, who will run for elections in 2021, also recalled that poor air quality causes the premature death of almost 6,000 people in Portugal, according to the European Environment Agency, and is an added danger for more fragile groups such as children and the elderly.
The public transportation downtown will be reinforced with buses from Marquês with 3-minute frequencies and a better night network, allowing connections to the outskirts, such as Odivelas, Amadora, Oeiras and Loures. Fernando Medina recalled other measures that are underway and that will give reasons to leave the car behind, such as the decrease in the price of public transportation passes and the restructuring of Carris, which will allow the creation of a Carris that operates in the entire Lisbon metropolitan area.
Ribeira das Naus will remain outside the new ZER, at least for the time being, as it will continue to be an area where thousands of vehicles cross the river every day. The Avenida-Baixa-Chiado ZER will be put into practice in June, with stricter inspection starting in July. Until then, meetings will be held with residents, merchants and the Parish Councils, the authorized vehicles will be registered and the projects for intervention in the streets, avenues and squares covered by the changes will be finalized.
Lisbon's new downtown is a historic project, and should also be one of Medina's flagships in his possible re-candidacy in 2021, along with works such as the new Praça de Espanha. Both initiatives are part of the European Green Capital 2020, an award given to Lisbon.
