Work planned for the end of 2017 should move forward by summer. A cycle path is planned along a section of Avenida de Ceuta.
The work to rehabilitate part of Avenida de Ceuta, integrating it into the planned Green Corridor of the Alcântara Valley, is finally going ahead - six years behind schedule. The contract, worth approximately 3.9 million euros, was awarded at the end of January and, according to the local authority, the "startup may not occur until April 2023".
The Alcântara Valley Green Corridor was an ambitious project presented in 2016 by the then Alderman for Green Structure at Lisbon City Hall, José Sá Fernandes. The plan was to create a pedestrian and cycling axis, accompanied by green spaces, in the Alcântara ValleyHowever, and already with a significant delay, only the part between Radial de Benfica, the Campolide railway station, the Águas Livres Aqueduct and Quinta da Bela Flor was executed. The route ends today an underpass under the railway line, which ends in the middle of Avenida de Ceuta. The conclusion of the entire Green Corridor project was even pointed out by Sá Fernandes for the end of 2017.
The completion of the Alcântara Valley Green Corridor is, therefore, dependent on the requalification of the Avenida de Ceuta - the last major phase of this project, which includes the creation of a cycle path on one side of the avenue, a surface water course in the central separator between the six traffic lanes, and also a new green area at Quinta da Cabrinha. The public tender for the intervention on Avenida de Ceuta was launched in the summer of 2021 and has been underway for the past year.
Project ends at Quinta do Cabrinha
With award of the work to the company Unikonstrói for 3.9 million eurosWith an execution deadline of about two years, we may have the long-awaited final point in the Alcântara Green Corridor and, finally, a pedestrian and cycling connection between Alcântara and the city center, through Campolide. "The contract [for the Avenida de Ceuta] has already been signed and sent to the Court of Auditors. The work can only begin after the approval of that entity. Therefore, its start may not occur before April 2023.explained the municipality to Lisboa Para Pessoas.
The project that will be executed will be the same that was planned in 2016 and, therefore, the Green Corridor will end at Quinta do Cabrinha, before the social housing neighborhood there. In the summer of 2021, EMEL told Lisboa Para Pessoas that it was studying a bidirectional bicycle path between Docas de Alcântara, next to the river, and the cyclopedestrian section on Avenida de Ceuta, through the designated Alcântara Viaduct, but did not give any dates or details. Now, the Lisbon City Hall clarifies that "the establishment of a connection to the river was not contemplated in the Alcântara Green Corridor project, since it interferes with the intervention area of the Alcântara Detailed Plan" and that, therefore, "that Plan would call for the continuation of the proposed route to the river".
In any case, the execution of this Plan will depend on the arrival of the Lisbon Metro's Red Line at Alcântara, which is planned to take place by the end of 2026 with several implications for the public space in the complex road junction that currently exists, namely next to the Alcântara-Terra railway station.
What about the Free proposal?
As mentioned, the intervention in Avenida de Ceuta will go ahead according to the original project, which does not mean that ideas from the proposal presented by Livre in early 2022 at a town hall meeting will not be implemented. "The motion presented by Livre has several goals and assumptions similar to those defended in the intervention proposed by the Executive [of Carlos Moedas]. Naturally, given the complexity of the intervention and the need to balance the needs to improve public space, mobility, and the environment, there are some points of the motion whose feasibility is being equated and several solutions will be different when all the interventions are concluded“clarified the municipality to Lisboa Para Pessoas.
"Working meetings are being promoted with several Lisbon City Hall Departments in the scope of the Integrated Study of the Alcântara Valley, which includes Avenida de Ceuta, which will allow for an adequate analysis of the claims presented in Livre's motion"added the Lisbon City Council. "At this moment, the main difficulties and opportunities are being identified in order to define an intervention program. The main objectives will be to improve pedestrian accessibility and promote ways to reduce flood risk and noise."
In January 2022, the Livre presented in Lisbon City Hall a proposal for the Avenida de CeutaThe party Rui Tavares advocated transforming one side of the avenue into an exclusive public transportation corridor with two one-way bike lanes and pedestrian areas. Rui Tavares' party defended the transformation of one side of the avenue into an exclusive public transportation corridor with two one-way bike paths and pedestrian areas. It also proposed to remove the Ribeira de Alcântara from the underground drainage system, separating its waters from domestic sewage, and returning it to the city.
