Lisbon City Council is improving pedestrian accessibility at the intersection of Avenida das Nações Unidas and Azinhaga da Torre do Fato, in Carnide, by returning a crosswalk that was removed more than 20 years ago, when the flow of cars was considered more of a priority than anything else.
As part of the Lisbon Pedestrian Accessibility Plan - a 2014 plan that was never completed, but which is gaining a new lease of life this term. momentum -, the Lisbon City Council is intervening in the intersection of Avenida das Nações Unidas and Azinhaga da Torre do Fatoin CarnideThis makes it accessible to everyone. For those who don't know the area so well, it's the intersection of Continente de Telheiras and the former Carrefour.
The ongoing intervention promises to improving pedestrian mobility at this intersectionwhich today has an extremely road-oriented design, with car traffic flow in mind. The aim is to make the intersection, particularly pedestrian crossings, accessible to all pedestriansThis is particularly important for people with reduced mobility. To this end, tactile paving is being introduced at every corner, which is essential for blind people to know how to get to the crosswalk, and kerbs are also being lowered, ensuring that the sidewalk is at the same level as the road surface (zero bounce).
A extension of the sidewalk at some corners with a reduction in the radius of curvature - to force cars to turn more carefully and less quickly - and a rest island in the middle of one of the intersection's four pedestrian crossings. In addition, it will be bus stop relocated so that a person in a wheelchair, for example, can pass behind it (nowadays, this stop is in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking it).
But, one of the most significant changes concerns the reintroduction of a pedestrian crossing that had been removed more than two decades ago, when the flow of cars was considered more of a priority than anything else. This removal meant that pedestrians had to cross three times, waiting at three different traffic lights, if they just wanted to get from one side of the avenue to the other. It is important to note that this intersection has an orthogonal layout, where two lanes intersect, generating four potential crossing points for pedestrians.
Pedestrian accessibility work at the intersection of Avenida das Nações Unidas and Azinhaga da Torre do Fato, in Carnide, "results from the diagnosis of the Pedestrian Accessibility Plan having identified this as a black spot, following which this project was developed to improve the situation"explains the Lisbon City Council. This intervention also completes the accessible pedestrian network in that area, between Azinhaga dos Ulmeiros, next to Pingo Doce de Telheiras, and Rua Padre Américo, near Padaria Portuguesa, passing through the aforementioned Azinhaga Torre do Fato and Rua Poeta Bocage.
The intervention at this intersection is the responsibility of UCT - Territorial Coordination UnitThe Lisbon City Council's "small works with a big impact" team. It began in the first half of December. It will last 90 days and should be completed in January.. This intervention represents an investment of 102.9 thousand euros.
