The new bike path starts at Rua Pardal Monteiro, next to Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa, and goes until near the commercial area of Bela Vista. The track will offer a new connection between Olivais and Vale de Chelas.
A member of the Lisboa Para Pessoas Community was surprised when he passed by the Bela Vista area and found construction work near Rua Pardal Monteiro. Lisboa Para Pessoas went to the site and confirmed: it is a new stretch of bike lane that starts at Rua Pardal Monteiro, near the traffic circle of Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa, and goes until near the commercial area of Bela Vista through Avenida Santo Condestável.
The new bike path is a work of the Green Structure Department of the Lisbon City Hall that, in the end of 2021, was consigned by about 324.8 thousand euros to the company Decoverdi - Plants and Gardens, S.Athe winner of the public tender that was held. The contract has a 180-day execution period (6 months) with an additional 180 days of green space maintenance. The project was coordinated by architect João Castro, also responsible for the new cycling configuration of Avenida Almirante Reis.
The new cycle track follows Avenida Santo Condestável and is divided into two large sections: one that crosses a green space, allowing a gentle descent from the upper part of the traffic circle and Rua Pardal Monteiro; and a second section on Avenida Santo Condestável, which will involve the reduction of one lane of traffic.
"The present infrastructure starts in a flat area where there is a section of bike path already built in Pardal Monteiro Street, near the Rotunda of Av. Marechal Gomes da Costa, through a Y-shaped bifurcation, leading a branch to the east in the direction of Av. St. Condestável, crossing a hillside sector in an open area of dryland, until it is positioned concurrent to the west side of Av. St. Condestável. The introduction of the bifurcation makes it possible to accommodate users coming from Olivais and Bela Vista simultaneously".reads the project's descriptive memory, which was disclosed during the public tender and that Lisboa Para Pessoas has consulted.
The bike path will be accompanied by a pedestrian path along the green space and will have connection to the existing bike lane on Rua Pardal Monteiro, both in the traffic circle area - where a bicycle path has existed for several years - such as on Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro - where two undirectional will be built to make the connection with the pop-up that Pardal Monteiro won last year.
With the implementation of this bike path, Avenida Santo Condestável will be without one of the three lanes it currently has in each direction. In the North-South direction, the bike path will occupy "part of the original edge of the avenue"The rightmost lane will be removed to make way for the new berm and to provide a safe distance between the bike path and general traffic. "it is planned to separate the road (kerb) from the bike path by perforated kerb for water circulation".
The new bike path will, for now, connect to the Urban Park of Vale de Chelas, where it is possible to take an almost direct bike path towards the river (Braço de Prata). In the future, this bike path that is now being built may even reach the commercial area of Bela Vista. In the parts of Avenida Santo Condestável that will be left without a bike lane at the road level, lanes will be painted. In the other direction (South-North) of the avenue, there is "expected" the conversion of the right lane into a "strip for parking, involving the adaptation of the entrance and exit of the gas station".
The contract will be developed in a way to make the work compatible with the Clock Fair, the city's largest fair that takes place every Sunday morning along Avenida Santo Condestável.
The member of the Lisboa Para Pessoas Community who noticed this work also reported that, after asking the Junta de Freguesia de Marvila about it, he received the following answer: "We don't have exact knowledge of the work yet (we are waiting for the blueprints to be sent), but all indications are that it will be the creation of a cycling and pedestrian network."
