Luís Carvalho, a lawyer, uses the bicycle as a means of transportation in Lisbon and the Rua de CampolideThe avenue, which was widened in order to cross it, is one of his usual routes. The work created a new traffic-lighted crossing for cyclistsThe traffic light is a green light, where you have to press a button to get a green light. On the one hand, the traffic light forces traffic to stop, something that didn't always happen with the previous traffic light, even though cyclists always had priority. On the other hand, it can mean that the bicycle has to wait too long before it can pass, as is often the case in some parts of the city.
Since the work was carried out, Luís has made some posts on the Facebook group The bicycle as a means of transportationsharing grievances about the traffic light's delay in turning green once the button has been pressed. On one occasion, Luís accounted for "a long 1 minute and 23 seconds" waiting. "It's evidence that the button is there for decoration and to pretend that soft and active mobility is taken into account. That's why the solution for many cyclists and pedestrians is to cross at red lights, taking unnecessary risks.", shared in the group on May 13.
Luís even questioned the choice of traffic lights at that location instead of a raised crossing, not least because, as he noted in another outburst, the solution installed "It's not even good for cars, as passing one or two bicycles in three seconds will take them ten times as long to stop for nothing.". In other words, after a bicycle had waited a minute and a half for the green light, for example, and passed in three seconds, the cars were still blocked for another 30 seconds on the red light. "The flow of bicycles doesn't justify such nonsense, in which everyone loses"he concluded in a publication on January 4th.
As of the date of this article, the traffic light for cyclists crossing Rua de Campolide has been resolved, now giving the green light very quickly to those on bicycles and not blocking other traffic for too long. The situation merited the attention of EMEL's own President, Luís Natal Marques, who, attentive to the discussion that Luís' May 13th publication generated, simply commented: "Noted.
Luís Carvalho explained to Lisboa Para Pessoas that he was contacted by Bruno Vasconcelos Maia, EMEL's operations director, who asked him for some additional information. "He then went to the site with technical services, who adjusted the button times."
Luís says that now the traffic light has already opened the green in just five seconds and has been told that if someone has just pressed the button to pass, the maximum wait for the next person will be 40 seconds. The red light time for motorists has also been reduced, after Luís also flagged up this problem: it has gone from 30 seconds - - to 30 seconds. "an enormity" - in half. "This shows that people who cycle aren't against cars. We all want better mobility, even for cars." Lisboa Para Pessoas had the opportunity to test the Rua de Campolide traffic light before and after EMEL's rectification and confirms the improvement to mobility on that artery.
Throughout the city, it's common to find traffic lights that take too long to turn green for pedestrians and cyclists, giving priority to the car and often leading so-called vulnerable users to risk turning red. Often, however, resolving situations such as traffic lights with excessive waiting times is not easy. It can require a tangle of emails, registrations in the My Street app or other types of bureaucracy. It's clear to see how simple situations can be resolved, especially when you want to attract users to sidewalks and bike paths.
