Those who walk along Avenida Almirante Gago Coutinho, which connects the Clock traffic circle to the Areeiro traffic circle, already know what awaits them: sidewalks almost entirely occupied by parked cars. This has been the case for several years, and since 2016, the situation has become legal, with the Lisbon City Council installing vertical parking herringbone signs. The municipality said it was unintentional and that it was to be reversed, but only now, after five years, will Gago Coutinho finally have its sidewalks free.
EMEL will enter Almirante Gago Coutinho Avenue to free the sidewalks and put order in the parking lot. The intervention will be temporary, while the final requalification project for that avenue is finished, which involves, for example, the implementation of two undirectional bicycle paths. For now, free and abusive parking, taking up the entire width of the sidewalk and leaving an uneven and uncomfortable pedestrian channel, will end.
Longitudinal spaces will be painted between the grove and the lighting, where residents with a badge or visitors who pay the parking meter will be able to park. In theory, there will be less parking capacity at Gago Coutinho, but it is expected that the availability of spaces will increase with its pricing. The work on Gago Coutinho started on April 7 and should take six weeks. "The intervention in Gago Coutinho is the end of the work of regulating parking in Alvalade, which we have been doing since 2015. But there are still many sidewalks to protect"explains Junta de Freguesia de Alvalade, contacted via chat by Lisboa Para Pessoas.
The intervention, which covers three EMEL zones in the parish of Alvalade and two in Areeiro, promises to put an end to "assault on residents and pedestrians today" and is a "intermediate step" before the future requalification of Avenida Almirante Gago Coutinho. This phasing may contribute for the work to be more accepted and its benefits better perceived. "With the parking control everyone wins, the residents, the ones who visit the parish and the pedestrians, and it opens the way to extend Gago Coutinho to other mobilities".says Junta de Freguesia de Alvalade.
It is worth mentioning that in the surroundings of the avenue there is a wide offer of parking for those arriving in the city: in the Manuel Gouveia Streeta parking lot with 398 spaces where, for example, you can park for 3 euros/day or 10 euros/month; and at Francisco Franco StreetThere is a Daily Ticket area that costs 2€/day and has a capacity of 148 seats.
The temporary work of parking order and sidewalk clearance on Gago Coutinho should be completed by mid-May. The final requalification of the avenue and the introduction of two undirectional bicycle lanes will be themes for later.
