The petition, organized by the collective Lisboa Possível and discussed in the Municipal Assembly, proposed bicycle paths connecting downtown and the river and along it. Councilman for Mobility, Ângelo Pereira, said that first it is necessary to study, plan and frame these bike paths in the future PMUS.
Lisbon's Municipal Assembly (AML) discussed a petition with over 1200 signatures for a bicycle path network in downtown Lisbon. Launched in February of this year, the petition had entered in April in AMLAs usual, it was first analyzed in specialty and then appreciated by all municipal deputies in plenary. The petitioners called for bike lanes in downtown Lisbon on two axes (North-South and East-West), but they didn't leave the AML with the most favorable news.
"We chose to ride our bikes but are afraid to ride through downtown Lisbon" - thus began the text of the petition that, between February and April, gathered 1268 signatures online and offline. "Downtown is the heart of the city that connects Lisbon's neighborhoods to the Tagus River. It represents our identity and is our meeting point. Here we all mix: those who visit and those who live here, those on business and on vacation. It is the most desirable part of this city, which should be safe, humane and welcoming to all.“ - he continued.
Pedro Ramos, a bicycle user and the first petitioner, suggested three bike lanes on two major axes: in the North-South axisA segregated bike lane on Avenida da Liberdade to connect Avenida da República to Rossio and, from here, another bike lane connecting Rossio, Praça da Figueira and Cais das Colunas in Praça do Comércio; on the East-West axisA cycle path connecting Campo das Cebolas to Ribeira das Naus, crossing Praça do Comércio and reaching Cais do Sodré. "Creating these bike paths means protecting our lives, our health, our environment and our cultural wealth. Creating these bike paths, is a step towards the Lisbon of the future" - concluded the text. The petition was organized by Pedro, together with Lisbon Possible activist collective.
Listened to by the 8th Standing Committee of the Municipal Assembly, which deals with Mobility issues, Councilman Ângelo Pereira, who holds this same portfolio in the Lisbon City Council, revealed that the The proposed East-West axis is part of the current executive's commitment to create a continuous riverside bike path between Parque das Nações and Algés, so it will take place. Already the North-South axis will have to "be seen in a more careful way, more planned, well studied, and should be framed in the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan that is being prepared by CML".said the Councilman, as quoted in the report that the aforementioned Commission prepared on the petition.
That is, the connection between Campo da Cebola and Cais do Sodré will happen integrated in the riverside cycle path project; but the connection between Avenida da Liberdade and the river will have to wait for the audit of the cycling network and the Sustainable Mobility Plan (PMUS). It is recalled that Carlos Moedas' Chamber decided suspend new bike path projects until a security assessment is made of the current network; this audit is to be carried out by an external entity through a public tender, yet to be launched. At the same time, it is the will of the current executive develop, finally, a PMUS for the city of LisbonThis project will also be elaborated by an external entity through a tender, still to be launched.
The plan to expand Lisbon's cycling network, now suspended, includes several bicycle paths planned downtown - projects that would come to fruition with ZER ABC:
- bidirectional bike path between Avenida da Liberdade and Praça do Comércio, passing through Rossio and crossing Rua do Ouro;
- Bidirectional bicycle path between Rua João das Regras (where the Almirante Reis lane ends), passing through Praça da Figueira and crossing Rua dos Fanqueiros;
- bidirectional bicycle path between Rossio and Praça da Figueira, connecting the two previous ones;
- One-way bicycle paths in Rua de São Julião and Rua do Comércio, connecting the Fanqueiros bicycle path to the Ouro bicycle path, thus allowing access to the Praça do Comércio;
- A bicycle path of undefined typology on the waterfront of the Praça do Comércio, connecting Campo das Cebolas and Ribeira das Naus (a bidirectional section is planned between the latter and Cais do Sodré through Largo Corpo Santo).
Even though it has been postponed, and despite the reevaluation that Moedas' executive intends to make, the cycling plan for downtown may be maintained because it proves to be the most appropriate.
Back to the Municipal Assembly. Besides Councilman Ângelo Pereira, the 8th Standing Committee heard the Mayors of the parishes of Santo António and Santa Maria Maior, whose positions you can read in the report on the petition, available below. This document also includes five recommendations, which were later approved by a majority of the municipal deputies. These are recommendations from the Assembly to the Chamber, that is, non-binding measures that the Chamber can implement or not. Among the recommendations made, it is requested that the municipality study the "better solutions for the implementation of bicycle paths in downtown Lisbon, ensuring the cycling connection with the already existing bicycle paths and downtown and with the Frente Ribeirinha".
The petition launched by Pedro Ramos and the collective Lisboa Possível reintroduced the issue of bike lanes to the political agenda; however, the petition with over 1200 signatures ran into the wall of plans and studies - for now, nothing is going to happen, but of the two axes suggested, the riverside connection should be realized more quickly because it is an election promise. There is a clear political will to create a seamless bike path along the river; this project is in the hands of EMEL, which will study the route in 2023. Remember that the idea is not to create a new track but rather to resolve situations where there are currently interruptions.
