In residential areas, 30 km/h is the best speed. "A car in the city at 30 km per hour has a 10% chance of killing a pedestrian if hit by a car. This probability increases to 80% at the national legal limit in urban areas of 50 km/h. For most readers of this article, a car going 50km/h down the street where you live will seem like it's going too fast. And it is, if it's a normal Lisbon neighborhood street." The Lisbon City Council's Councillor for Mobility, Miguel Gaspar, explains this, in an article he signed after the accident involving a 16-year-old girl in Campo Grande.
The first zone 30 was opened in Lisbon in 2013 in the Charquinho neighborhood in Benfica. This residential area has seen changes to the urban space with a view to reducing traffic speeds, prioritizing active modes of mobility, increasing safety and reducing noise and air pollution. More zones 30 followed throughout the city and, more recently, have been accompanied by cycling infrastructure.
Lisbon's new streets and zones 30 include, in addition to the calming measures already mentioned, a green line on the asphalt, indicating to potential cyclists that the speeds practiced there allow cycling in comfort in the same space as cars. Parking spaces have also been created for bicycles and motorcycles - because the city, and particularly the neighborhoods, need to accommodate all types of vehicles!
In Alvalade, several residential and commercial streets are being converted into zones 30, namely the Afonso Lopes Vieira and Fernando Pessoa Streets, and the Marquesa de Alorna, Luís Augusto Palmeirim and José Duro Streetsnear the Alvalade Market.
