Parada do Alto de São João, in Penha de França, will see the creation of a new square with new meeting and living spaces, more pedestrian areas, reinforced tree planting and a new circulation and car parking scheme. The work starts on April 10th and was presented to the population last week in a session...
The d' projectA Square in Every Neighborhood planned since 2015 for the Alto de São João Paradein the parish of Penha de França, will move forwardat last. The work, awarded for 2.38 million euros and to last more than a year, foresees the requalification of the entire surroundings of São João Cemetery, widening the pedestrian area, reinforcing the green structure and redesigning the circulation and automobile parking.
A contract will be executed by the company Unikonstrói and is the responsibility of the Lisbon City Hall, having been, last week, presented to the population of Penha de França in a public session that, despite the low publicity, was relatively well attended. Filipa Roseta, Councillor for Municipal Works, was present.
The requalification of the Alto de São João Parada seeks to create a new centrality in the parish of Penha de França, linked to the future intervention in Rua Morais Soares and Almirante Reis. The half-moon design of the parade will be maintained, with circulation and car parking being moved further inland, close to the buildings, in order to create a pedestrian square in the area right in front of the cemetery. There will be more trees, an increase in parking spaces (from 131 to 167 spaces), the installation of a kiosk with an esplanade and sanitary facilities, and also the creation of an intergenerational park with a children's playground, fitness and canine area.
In greater detail, the work provides for the following changes:
- in the front part of the cemetery, there will be a reduction from four to three lanesAfonso III to Rua Morais Soares and the other one to Rua Morais Soares. lane in the opposite direction will be reserved for public transport. It is intended that, in the direction of Rua Morais Soares to Av. Afonso III, the general traffic will pass to the interior of the parade, next to the buildings, allowing access to the parking lot. The intention is to create a circular circulation around the square;
- elevation of the pedestrian crossing in front of the cemetery to enhance a safe connection with the plaza and elevation of other pedestrian crossings in the inner part of the plaza as a safety and calming measure;
- enhance the circular pedestrian circulation inside the parade with the widening the sidewalk adjacent to residential buildings from 3 to 6.50 metersThis will allow merchants to open their commercial spaces to the plaza;
- creation of an intergenerational park in a part of the plaza with children's equipment, fitness area and a dog park, and introduction of a kiosk with esplanade and sanitary facilitiesto promote the supply of equipment for collective use and the permanence of public space in the parade;
- creation of 162 parking spacesincluding two loading and unloading spaces, four for reduced mobility, and four for electric vehicles. There are currently 131 parking spaces in the plaza;
- placement of at least two sets of bicycle parking racks and reservation of space for a GIRA station with 24 docks next to the intergenerational park. And reservation of channel space in the part of the square next to the cemetery for the future introduction of a bike path. For now, the marking and painting of this bike path is ruled out, but the space for bicycle circulation will be there to be used by bicycle users in coexistence with pedestrians;
- increase of natural space with tree and shrub species - "green pockets" surrounded by shrub and tree clusters for informal sojourn and activity. There will be transplanting and felling of some trees, but the planting of 86 new trees throughout the square.
The intervention area of the Parada do Alto de São João is inserted in the eastern part of the city, integrating a square of regular urban layout. This square serves as a link to the riverside area through Avenida Afonso III, allowing entry into the city through this axis, and in turn to the central structure of the city, through Rua Morais Soares. At the city level, this centrality also constitutes the natural affluence point of the various neighborhoods around it, since it serves as the entrance to the Alto de São João cemetery, which is why its agglutinating character is so important and its requalification so desired.
With a total deadline of 425 days (one year and two months), the requalification of the Parada do Alto de São João will be divided into five phasesto minimize disruption. First the internal road in one half of the half-moon of the parade will be worked on, and then the same road in the other half of the half-moon, each phase lasting three months. During these phases it will be necessary to change the circulation and parking situation in adjacent streets. This will be followed by the creation of the new parking area in the plaza, which is also expected to last three months. In other words, in nine months the inner part of the parade and the new parking spaces will be available. In the fourth phase, the street in front of the cemetery will be intervened, and in the fifth phase the square itself will be executed.
The work includes the maintenance of 49 trees, but also the transplantation of 15 and the felling of 16 species, "corresponding almost entirely to occasional cases of location incompatible with the proposed design or specimens whose described phytosanitary condition suggests replacement"you can read in the descriptive memory of landscape architecture. In total, 86 trees are planned to be planted. In the area of the parking lot, a high tree density is expected and the placement of large species to meet the needs of overshadowing and to minimize the visual impact of this parking. In the remaining square, the plantings will seek to ensure the functionality and shading of the public space with deciduous species.
The intervention in the Parada do Alto de São João comes after, in 2021, the channel space in Avenida Afonso III was reduced to increase the parking offer in 36 new spaces. This project is also disconnected from a possible more integrated intervention in the area. Not only is a requalification of the Morais Soares Street axis planned, but also a parking silo with 215 places for carsThe silo will be built in a new area, which would allow for a response to the lack of supply pointed out by residents of the area. EMEL is already preparing the launching of the public tender for the silo project, but no date has been set for the construction of this equipment. However, the preliminary idea is that this silo can develop on the slope and function as an extension of the future plaza; it is also planned that the silo will have an elevator or other mechanical equipment to help overcome the hill between the parade and Avenida Mouzinho de Albuquerque.
In the session of presentation of the project to the population, last week, the present raised some concerns, being the detours planned during the construction and also the parkingduring and after the construction of the square, the complaints that most resounded. Responsible for the City Council and the Council of Penha de França pointed out that the Lusitânia Garage, next to Paiva Conceito, will be made available to the residents who will lose parking directly, with the provision of about 30 parking spaces. It was also explained that the phasing of the work will allow minimizing the impacts in this matter and that, as it moves to a new phase, the inconvenience will decrease.
In the session, questions were also raised about the bicycle circulation. From the City Hall side, it was said that it makes no sense to tear squares with bike lanes, disturbing their design with a green line, and that it is preferable to leave space on the pedestrian area for the coexistence of bicycles, having been given as examples Rossio or Praça do Comércio. Some cyclists present contested the decision, stating that it is a bad example to direct bicycles to the sidewalk, and that a segregated bike lane could have already been designed in this new square, anticipating the axis planned in the city's network plan between the river and Almirante Reis, through Avenida Afonso III and Rua Morais Soares.
Residents present also questioned the planned traffic detour to the interior of the stop/future plaza, next to the buildings, explaining that they would prefer this interior circulation to be local in scope. Filipa Roseta, Councillor for Municipal Works, stressed that the work was already planned since 2015 and promised to review the traffic issue with the technicians of the City Council to understand if there is any technical justification for this circular circulation or if there is room to make this change. New public sessions were promised for monitoring the work; some present criticized the poor dissemination of the event that took place last week and the time at which it was held, referring that it is incompatible with working hours.
The work in Parada do Alto de São João will start on April 10th, as announced during the session. In statements to Lisboa Para Pessoas, Sandra Campos, coordinator of the Neighbors of São João (Penha de França)He also regretted the timing and poor publicity of the meeting to present the project to the population. "It was not disclosed decently and I learned about it by luck"he laments, adding that "the late afternoon schedule does not allow for many people". For Sandra, the much promised parking silo should have been a priority and be done before any intervention in the square. "Things have to be fully integrated so as not to harm the residents. We think that the surface without cars is much more pleasant for everyone, but we have not been given a concrete answer as to whether the silo will be made. If they told us that they would go ahead with the silo right away, we would still have some tolerance with this work.he commented.
For this resident, "the silo is not only for cars and may also have places for bicycles", remembering the BiciParks network existing in some EMEL parks. Sandra also points out that the construction of this equipment would benefit the users of the cemetery. "When it's someone important being buried, they close off Avenida Afonso III and there is guaranteed parking, but for the residents and everyone else in Lisbon that guarantee is not given. The silo would also serve for this. We don't understand the inversion of the order of decisions"she laments. Sandra says that she tried, both in the Municipal Assembly and in the Parish Assembly, as well as in contacts with the City Council itself, to defend the prioritization of the construction of the parking lot over the square, not hiding her frustration at not feeling her voice and that of the residents she represents in the Neighbors group being properly heard.
In a short conversation with Lisboa Para Pessoas, Sandra also questioned the numbers presented by the City Hall regarding the future parking offer in the parade, claiming that they will be removed "more than 80 seats" because not all the places that have been formalized in the meantime were accounted for (the local authority speaks of a gain of 36 places). "Those 80 seats are not informal seats. They are formal, paid seats, which were painted by EMEL on the inner part of the square, in herringbone."she points out. To respond to this apparent reduction, Sandra asks, for example, for a reorganization of the road space on nearby Rua Sousa Viterbo, where parking could be done in a spine "so we can win 20 more seats" - a proposal that the neighbors of São João have already presented and that could be realized when this intervention is carried out.
At the end of this article we provide the most relevant documentation about the work planned in the Alto de São João Parade. With construction starting in early April, if deadlines are met, it should be ready by June 2024.
