The cycle path on Rua Cidade de Bissau, in Olivais, was one of the first pop-up cycle paths to appear in Lisbon, but pressure from the Parish Council and public protest from residents forced its removal. Now the cycle path is back in place, but with a new type. Work is still in progress.
In May, the Lisbon City Council announced the completion of a one-way cycle path (two lanes, one in each direction) on Rua Cidade de Bissau. It was the first in Olivais and was completed without a connection to a network. Applauded by the parish's bicycle users, who promptly organized a ride to send a clear message of thanks, the bike lane was, however, contested on social networks in groups of Olivais residents. Some people were concerned about the flow of car traffic on the road (which had gone from having two lanes of traffic in each direction to just one) and pointed to the lack of use of the recent cycling infrastructure.
The fact is that although the cycle path had been completed, it was not yet part of a network that would allow it to be used. Once this network was completed, from the City of Bissau you could reach Rua Cidade de Luanda, Avenida de Pádua and, therefore, Parque das Nações and the Tagus river; on the opposite side, it would be a way of cycling to Chelas or, via the future pop-up on Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa, to the parishes of Alvalade or Areeiro.
In June, the Olivais Parish Council wrote which "the new cycle path on Rua Cidade de Bissau is a pop-up cycle path, i.e. quickly implemented and built in a way that can easily be corrected, adapted or even removed". "At the moment, Lisbon City Council and the Parish Council are monitoring its use on a daily basis and measuring the impacts caused on road traffic there"he added.
In July, just two months after it was created, the pop-up cycle path in Bissau City was dismantled to create a new solution in the area: instead of the one-way type, a two-way type was chosen. The work is being completed and in the direction where the cycle lane has been laid cars have lost one lane of traffic; in the opposite direction they have kept both lanes. The change is forcing a triangle a sidewalk at the intersection of Avenida Cidade de Bissau and Avenida Cidade de Luanda, to connect to the existing one-way street.
The Chamber says that this solution will "to facilitate the connection to the two-way lane on Av. Marechal Gomes da Costa, scheduled for September" and emphasizes that it continues "committed to accelerating the plan to create a network of cycle paths, as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, by expeditiously creating a structuring cycle network that covers central circulation axes and connects the main work, study and residential centers". Once the new bike lane is completed, Rua Cidade de Bissau will have 52% dedicated to cars, 32% to pedestrians and only 16% to bicycles, according to the municipality.
Meanwhile, at the Jardim Eduardo Prado Coelho traffic circle, where there is already a cycle path, it is being extended along Rua Contra-Almirante Armando Ferraz to the Praça Baden Powel traffic circle, where this artery intersects with Avenida de Berlim and Avenida Cidade de Luanda, both of which are already cycleable. The traffic circle will also be transformed to allow cyclists to circulate between the different streets and avenues.
