Avenida de Berna. MUBi and ZERO file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office over the alteration to the cycle path

MUBi and ZERO presented complaint by the Lisbon City Council (CML) to the Public Prosecutor's Office for partially removing an infrastructure from the main cycling network with the purpose of returning 70 parking spaces. This action violates the Municipal Master Plan (PDM), contradicts the city's strategy - MOVE 2030 - and distances us from the international commitments signed by the municipality, defend the two associations.

"Lisbon City Council, without 'listening to the people' and before completing the audit of the cycle network that it itself commissioned, has started work that 'provides for the annulment of the one-way cycle path on the north side of Avenida de Berna, along its entire length, and on the south side, between Largo Azeredo Perdigão and Avenida da República', where almost 700 people pass by on bicycles every day. We now watch in disbelief as the work to remove the bike lane goes ahead, despite a petition with more than 1,000 signatories, the protests that have taken place and all the controversy that this illegal work has generated."the two associations said in a statement. "It is with astonishment and sadness that we are witnessing an unacceptable project in the middle of the 21st century, when the climate emergency is widely recognized and the externalities of the abuse of private cars are irrefutable."

In the same note sent to the press on Friday, MUBi, an association that defends urban mobility by bicycle, and the environmental association ZERO also say that the Avenida de Berna cycle path passes through the city. "lots of children on their way to school" and that, "If this is removed, there will be a rupture in the network, which is currently continuous, endangering those who cycle today and reducing the viability of this mode of transport in Lisbon". And they add: "All this is being done for the purpose of returning parking where it is not allowed, not necessary and not recommended, as it will impair the commercial speed of buses, on a structuring route of the network of corridors dedicated to the circulation of public road transport, which is being implemented."

The arguments

The complaint to the Public Prosecutor's Office, through its Lisbon Administrative Court, was made under the right to a fair hearing. Popular Actionand was received on October 25th.according to the two associations. The arguments put forward are as follows:

• "Firstly, the work violates the Lisbon's PDM (approved on July 24, 2012 by Deliberation No. 47/AML/2012), by disregarding the guidelines that prohibit parking on 2nd level roads without specific regulations."
• "Furthermore, the intervention contradicts the MOVE 2030 - Strategic Vision for Mobility in Lisbon (approved by the Municipal Assembly on 28/01/2020), which indicates Avenida de Berna as one of the Main Hierarchy Axis of the Cycling Network and defines goals for sustainable mobility in the city, from which the city has been moving away."
• "It also contradicts Public Space Manual developed by CML itself and which brings together 'recommendations and good practices' to be followed by those who 'have as their mission and responsibility the construction and management of public space', as far as bicycle circulation spaces are concerned."
• "This work of partial 'annulment' of the Av. de Berna cycle path also goes against good practices and recommendations of the European Union and takes us further away from the Commitments undertaken by the City (Mission Cities - 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 and European Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy)."

The decision by MUBi and ZERO to file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office was, according to them, taken after the Lisbon municipality allegedly ignored other forms of public participation:

• "several communiqués that show concern about the mobility policies that are being followed in the countryin the city of Lisbon and in Avenue of Bern in particular";
• "CML's indifference to the petition 'Bern Avenue intervention with people in mind' which has more than a thousand signatures (more than 800 online and more than 200 on paper)" [this petition was submitted to the Lisbon Municipal Assembly with around 720 signatures, with 1,000 signatures as of today];
• “public demonstrations completely ignored, given the continuity of the work to remove the bicycle lane on Avenida de Berna that we can see".

The two associations claim the following:

• "The immediate replacement of the beacons, so that the space is never again occupied by priced parking, nor is it invaded by undue/free parking";
• "That CML provisionally take mitigating measures to reduce conflicts in that space-channel, such as: 1) removing the sign posts; 2) implementing a solution next to the BUS lanes (in front of the shelters) similar to the one implemented in Alameda das Linhas de Torres; 3) altering the sidewalk in the sidewalk areas that fall within the aforementioned space-channel, making it clear to those on bicycles that they must circulate slowly, giving priority to pedestrians; 4) rebuilding ramps and sidewalks that have been milled.";
• "That CML initiates a broad participatory process, involving experts from different fields and inviting the population and associations, as well as institutions adjacent to the avenue, to take part in the process of co-creating a Future Avenue of Bern, safe and comfortable for all".

"At a time when we have to reduce at least 5% of CO₂ in the transport sector, what we are seeing is an increase. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with road fuel consumption have grown by 6.2% since 2019″The two associations put this into context in the same press release. "Transport accounts for more than 30% of the country's total emissions, and it is up to all public bodies with responsibilities for promoting sustainable mobility, including CML, to help reverse this trend. For this to happen, it is imperative that they refrain from developing actions that promote the use of private cars and, on the contrary, make every effort to guarantee the best circulation conditions for public transport and active modes."

Chamber talks about improving the bike path

A bike path on the Avenue de Berne was implemented in 2021 by Lisbon City Council, then chaired by Fernando Medina, with the aim of taking advantage of the space left free by the introduction of a high-capacity BUS corridor. The municipality argued at the time that maintaining the parking lot would be incompatible with the desired commercial speed of the buses on the avenue, which is a second-level road.

However, the laying of the bike path ended up causing friction between the residents of the area, who made a petition with 270 signatures reached the Municipal Assembly. This discussion resulted in a recommendation to the City Council to improve the cycle path, announcing and discussing the changes first. The Executive now led by Carlos Moedas says that this is what it is doing, changing the profile of the cycle path from unidirectional to bidirectional, reducing it, in a first phase (the work that is underway), to a third of the avenue and restoring 70 car parking spaces.

In 2024, in a second phase, it is planned to extend the cycle path, also in a bidirectional format, for another block, making it reach the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences (FCSH) at the Universidade Nova. Together, the two phases will cost at least half a million euros.

Confronted this week at a public meetingVice-President Filipe Anacoreta Correia said that "there's no point in talking about destroying the cycle path, that's not what's happening"explaining that "what we did in the House was a compromise solution". "The removal of the cycle path is not planned, nor has this council proposed it. What has been done is to rethink the cycle path so that it becomes bidirectional. We can see that this bidirectionality was already often practiced, for reasons of convenience, by cyclists."he added. "We recognize that it's an important cycle path and that it's also supported within the neighbourhood along the Avenue de Berne"He went on to explain that this change was also an election promise of the current President of the Avenidas Novas Parish Council. The work in progress should be completed by the end of November.

The start of the works prompted a hundred cyclists on October 17th. A second mobilization in defense of the Avenida de Berna cycle path is scheduled for this Friday, October 27, once again called by associations and informal groups in the city linked to cycling. The meeting point is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Campo de Pequeno square. The protests have also taken place with activists painting the bike lane at night. This week, a sign was vandalized at the headquarters of the Avenidas Novas Parish Council, where the word "Velhas" was written in red paint and the word "Novas" was crossed out. In front of the building, the following message was written on the asphalt: "The bike lane stays. If it goes out, we'll make it bigger!!!". A previous painting at this location had been erased. Painting was also carried out on other parts of the avenue.

At the aforementioned public meeting, Anacoreta Correia downplayed the protest, reiterating that this is an issue that has always created divisions and opposing petitions. "There is a temptation to instrumentalize partisanship as if it were some who own this [cycling] agenda against the others who want to do harm to this agenda. I don't think this has helped the implementation of these measures. We can't implement solutions against the city. We have to find compromise and dialog solutions that, at the end of the day, result in an increase in cycling possibilities"said the Vice-President, who is responsible for Mobility.

The rain...? The rain only helps to clear our throats! 😏💪#ownhouse1TP5Improving is not removing pic.twitter.com/aqNVSVsaeo

- Laura Alves (@meninalaura_) October 17, 2023