During construction work on the new pop-up bike path, the current one will remain passable. Uphill section will only be removed after work on the downhill side is completed.
A Carlos Moedas' new pop-up proposal for the Almirante Reis cycle path is expected to cost between 290,000 and 400,000 euros, according to documentation shared on Monday. EMEL presented the municipality with two cost scenarios, taking into account two different paths in terms of the complexity of the contract.
In the lowest scenario, of 290,000 euros, it is expected that construction and hydro-injection work for "removal of the uphill cycle path"as well as the "removal of horizontal signs [paintings on the ground] in both directions". In the highest budget estimate, of 400 thousand euros, it is suggested that a work "from kerb to kerb in an upward direction" and the "removal of downward horizontal signs".
In the first scenario, this intervention would cost around 60,000 euros and in the second, close to 170,000. Furthermore, in both budgets presented, the contract - which is the responsibility of EMEL - involves horizontal signage (sidewalk markings) worth 180,000 euros and vertical signage (signals) and traffic lights (SLAT) worth 50,000 euros.
After the start of preliminary work during the month of MayAccording to the schedule published, the work to alter the bike path was scheduled to start this Monday, May 30. The contract has an estimated duration of around 80 days, with a further 20 days of complementary work expected. If work began on May 30 as originally planned, the new cycle path would be accessible by August 26.
The timetable was prepared with a view to keeping the current cycle path passable during the works. In the first phase of the work, and before any other intervention, the new bike lane dividing lines will be painted and the downhill segregators relocated. It won't be until August 26, when the new lane has been completed, that the removal of the cycle path on the uphill side will begin, with the segregators being relocated to the downhill side. On the other hand, when work is carried out on the section of the cycle lane in the Martim Moniz area, temporary 30+bike markings will be created while the final lane is built. Paving work is also planned for this section to solve the current road surface problems.
It should be noted that Lisbon City Council has never before been so transparent about the cost of a bike path pop-up in particular and detailing the work involved in carrying it out. Many cycle paths were built during the previous administration without a publicized project, using signage "packages" contracted in batches or relocated from other contracts, and with various changes made during the course of the work, which will have increased the costs initially planned, as Lisboa Para Pessoas knows. This was the case, for example, with the current Almirante Reis cycle path, which didn't have a set of islands and traffic lights in the project that were eventually put in.
Moedas wants to go ahead with the cycle path, councillors on the left want public consultation
The Left Bloc (BE), together with Livre and Cidadãos Por Lisboa (CPL), brought a proposal to the extraordinary meeting of the city council this Monday, May 30, for "submit the alteration of the Almirante Reis Avenue cycle path to a public consultation period of no less than 45 days". The left is also calling for the new bike lane project to be "contain the technical data supporting the change (...), particularly with regard to traffic on Av. Almirante Reis and adjacent streets, emissions of polluting gases, the safety of the solution"and that "the impact of the project in terms of pollutant emissions is quantified with a view to meeting the commitment" undertaken with the European Union to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.
The BE, Livre and CPL proposal also calls for "technical and safety opinions" from the PSP, Municipal Police, Civil Protection, Fire Brigade and INEM, data on ambulance times on Almirante Reis before the bike lane, in its previous version and in its current configuration for comparison, and a technical demonstration that "the proposed solution is more suitable than the one currently implemented".
At the same meeting, Carlos Moedas brought a counter-proposal so that "the City Council resolves to continue with the work in progress". The mayor's proposal argues that the proposal presented was worked out with INEM, the Fire Brigade, EMEL and the Municipal Mobility Directorate, "that contributed to the consistency of the solution"and that "trials were also carried out with Carris, EMEL and Metropolitano de Lisboa to test different solutions and scenarios".
According to the text of Carlos Moedas' proposal, "this new solution makes it possible to ensure the access channel to the Hospital de S. José, at the expense of the exceptional and integral use of the cycling channel", e "promotes greater fluidity of traffic in the direction of the exit (...), an improvement in traffic flow of up to 20 minutes at peak times“. It is also mentioned that it is "the maintenance of current parking spaces, as well as loading and unloading bays, as requested by residents and traders in the participation sessions" and that there will be a "adding around 60 seats in the Arroios Market area".
"The execution of the latest configuration of the cycle lane on Avenida Almirante Reis, like other cycle lanes in the city, took place in the middle of the pandemic period, without prior disclosure of studies or opinions and without allowing effective participation or prior debate on the current solution."the Mayor of Lisbon recalls today. Moedas attached four documents to his proposal: a PowerPoint presentation with data on the Avenida, a document with environmental monitoring of Almirante Reis, a timetable for the work, a cost estimate and a detailed plan which had not been disclosed with the publication of the bike path project on Friday.
The main bone of contention between Moedas and the left-wing councillors is the issue of public consultation. The Mayor believes that the participatory process carried out - with three sessions in Arroios e a Wednesday at Fórum Lisboa - was sufficient; but BE, Livre and CPL are calling for a formalized public consultation as such, in which citizens have access to all the documents on the cycle path and can make contributions during a fixed period of days. As with any public consultation, a report has to be produced that condenses the different opinions of people and formal consequences.
The left has been asking the Moedas executive for a copy of the minutes or other records of what was said at the hearings held with the population and the meetings with the associations, civic movements and living forces of Arroios; at the last public meeting, the Vice-President of the municipality, Filipe Anacoreta Correia, said that there were video recordings of the different sessions and that he would see if they could be made available, taking into account data protection legislation.
However, neither proposal ended up being voted on at Monday's meeting; both were postponed to a future meeting. All because the left considered that there were no conditions to vote on Moedas' text, since the documents had been sent a few minutes after the meeting had started, according to Expresso. It remains to be seen how the PS and PCP will vote on the BE, Livre and CPL proposal, which, despite not forcing Moedas to halt the works, creates an embarrassment: moving ahead with changes at a time when there would be a proposal approved by the CML for a public hearing, as Expresso explains.
PCP to present "participatory urban plan" for Almirante Reis
PCP councillors will present a proposal for the creation of a Participatory urban plan for Avenida Almirante Reis which "integrate and enhance true public participation and act on the set of urban, environmental, social problems through the cross-fertilization of knowledge and resources", reads a note sent to newsrooms after Monday's executive meeting.
The communists consider that "in the Avenida area, a number of local grassroots organizations and citizens' movements have emerged that aspire to participate in a more structured way in the construction of the city of Lisbon, but which have been slow to find expression" e propose that "a plan that integrates the various dimensions from the point of view of biodiversity, pedestrian enjoyment, public transport and mobility", "taking the cycle path as a fundamental part of this axis".
For the PCP, the area of intervention of this participatory Urban Plan should not be limited to the Avenida canal and incorporate "public spaces and surrounding facilities to be redeveloped, such as Largo de Santa Bárbara, Largo das Igreja dos Anjos, Praça das Novas Nações, Jardim Constantino", e "also its expectant spaces such as the old Laura Alves Theater, the Cabeço da Bola Barracks or the Arroios and Desterro Hospitals, in order to put them at the service of the people and for the enjoyment of the public interest".
It's worth remembering that Livre has already taken a step in this direction, although not as comprehensively as the PCP suggests. In April, the party represented by Rui Tavares in Lisbon's City Council presented a petition, a proposal for a major redevelopment of Avenida Almirante Reis.
