The bike path of about 5 km connects Paço de Arcos (train station) to Porto Salvo, passing by the Impresa building, large commercial surfaces and the business centers of Quinta da Fonte and Lagoas Park.
(This article is part of a new rubric entitled Outside the Citywhich aims to highlight stories and points of interest outside Lisbon, related to pedestrian and cycling mobility, and public transport).
By bike it is now possible to reach Quinta da Fonte and Lagoas Park, two very important business centers in Oeiras, from the Paço de Arcos train station. The new Oeiras business bike lane is a mega project of about 5 km that aims to promote bicycle travel together with the train to and from work.
Construction of the business bike path began in February 2020 with a lead time of 270 days, and was not opened until April of this year. The bike path runs along a continuous axis between Paço de Arcos station and Lagoas Park, passing through Porto Salvoand presents two branches: one in the Quinta da Fonte area, where the initially designed 4 km bike path was complemented with an additional 600 meters, between the Oliveiras traffic circle and Parque das Perdizes, thus closing a circular ring through the new viaduct built in the area; and the other near Lagoas Park, where a direct access to the streets of a residential neighborhood, Urbanização C.H.E.O., was created.
With an investment of 1.625 million euros, to which 110.8 thousand euros were added for the added sectionThe bicycle path presents a direct route designed for utilitarian trips. It starts just outside the train station with a 30+bicycle section and a counterflow area. It then takes on a bidirectional configuration, segregated from the remaining ttraffic, whether by shared ride or at the expense of a transit lane.
Bicycle and pedestrian sharing zones are an easily forgivable compromiseThe bike lane is at the sidewalk level and shared with pedestrians is colored yellow, while when it is completely segregated it is colored red - an interesting detail). These sidewalks are not very busy and there was a concern to create these sharing areas only where there was an alternative sidewalk of adequate width.
The compromise is also accepted due to the low modal share of bicycles in the municipality of Oeiras on today's date. The infrastructure can be changed and expanded in the future as the number of users increases, and already today it offers adequate conditions for the adoption of the bicycle as a means of transportation. The business bike path, besides connecting a densely business area - from Quinta da Fonte and Lagoas Park - also passes near the Oeiras Parque shopping center through Parque das Perdizes, the Impresa group building (SIC/Expresso) and at the doorstep of two large supermarkets, a Lidl and an Auchan.
The Oeiras business bike path serves a business area and has little housing, so it may have a very unique use especially at peak hours. Still, the two parishes covered - Paço de Arcos and Porto Salvo - have about 15 thousand inhabitants each. The bike path aims to promote a modal shift from individual transport to bicycles and will be complemented with the Oeiras' future public bicycle sharing system. This system could eventually have 30 stations and 300 bicycles. Along the corporate bicycle path, the following are planned eight to nine stations: two train stations, one in Alto da Loba, one to two on Estrada de Paço de Arcos, two in Quinta da Fonte, one near the Holiday Inn hotel and another near EB1/JI Porto Salvo.
