At the end of 2023, the parishes of Santo António and Arroios will return the parking spaces occupied by "Covid terraces" to residents' cars. Misericórdia had already done so. Penha de França and Ajuda will extend their licenses.
Rua da Artilharia Um, in Lisbon, one of the last "Covid terraces" in the parish of Santo António is being dismantled. The person responsible for this task is a plumber who is usually hired by the owners of the Nepalese restaurant that installed this structure two or three years ago. At the time, there were social distancing measures and restrictions on the number of people allowed inside the establishments. And there was public funding for restaurants to expand their commercial spaces by installing outdoor terraces in car parking areas. "Now everything goes to waste. Pollution is created"the plumber tells us. "This is a disgrace."
The Santo António parish council, together with the Arroios parish council, have decided to end all "esplanade-Covid" licenses by the end of this year. In addition to being two parishes led by the coalition New Times (PSD/CDS), Santo António and Arroios are also the parishes in Lisbon where the most temporary terraces have been set up during the pandemic periodin March 2022, according to data from the City Council, there were 365 terraces authorized in parking spaces - 68 in Arroios, 51 in Santo António.
While these two parishes have decided to put an end to the "Covid terraces", others have decided the opposite. This is the case of the Parish Council of Penha de França or that of Helpboth led by the PS, which will continue to allow restaurants and cafés to use these outdoor spaces for their business. But this is not a partisan issue, but a political one. Also at the beginning of 2023, in the Municipal Assembly, the President of the Junta da Misericórdia, the socialist Carla Madeira, had defended which "faced with a shortage of parking for residents" was "it is imperative to give these parking spaces back to families". "The city has returned to normal"so "the PS does not understand, at the present time, the relevance of this measure to give up parking spaces".
Parish councils have the first say on the occupation of parking spaces by commercial terracesThese new permits will also have to be evaluated by the City Council, through its Municipal Mobility Department, taking into account the ratio of parking spaces in the area. The aim of this assessment, as explained by the Councillor for the Economy, Diogo Moura, in January at the Municipal Assembly, had to do with creating a balance between the wishes of traders and residents, and between the desire for terraces and parking. At that time, the Councillor saw his proposal to exempt the so-called "Covid terraces" from paying public space occupation fees approved by the municipal deputies, a measure that had already been in force since 2020.
The theme of "esplanades-Covid" had already stirred up the media in Lisbon in 2022when the Junta de Arroios had already tried to reversing the measure and then ended up retreat. But now it will be for good. At the end of this year, the parish led by Madalena Natividade (CDS) will be without the terraces temporarily allowed during the pandemic. According to information published by Público in NovemberIn December, several traders were notified by the Junta de Freguesia, by letter, to dismantle their terraces by the end of December. The Junta told the same newspaper that it was available to find solutions with entrepreneurs to keep their terraces within the public spaceThis is based on three factors: the structures not disturbing the circulation in the public space; the terraces not being a mere duplication of the space already available; and the existence or not of complaints from residents and other passers-by. According to the Lisbon newspaper A MensagemThe alternatives given by the Junta de Arroios to the shopkeepers were the sidewalk.
"Won what, a seat?"
In both Arroios and Santo António, the concern is about car parking. In front of the cafeteria IvoryIn Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca, on the way to Amoreiras, the removal of the esplanade freed up a space for one car. The owners of this establishment regret the decision of the Junta de Santo António. "What have we gained, a parking space? There's a shortage of parking in Lisbon, but that's not the way to solve the problem. If there were 10 terraces here in this street, that would be one thing. But that's not the case"Manuel laments. "They want to get cars out of the city. They're always going on about it, but then they create more parking for cars", also points out.
The businessman explains to us that they asked for that terrace at the time of Covid and that, in May 2023, they were contacted by the Parish Council to renew the license and also for the payment of a small fee for occupying a parking space. "It was about 50-something euros. For three months, until September"he says (it's worth noting that although the council has exempted traders from paying these fees, St. Anthony has chosen to charge them). Manuel mentions that it has never been a problem for Ivory paid for occupying the public space and was willing to continue doing so. However, he reveals that, at the end of September, the Junta decided not to renew the license. "One day they say one thing, the next they say another. They should think things through first and then decide" in order to avoid creating unpredictability among people - asks.
Manuel says that in September, when the council ordered the terrace to be removed, some neighbors got together to ask for the outdoor structure to be maintained. Maria was one of them. She now drinks her coffee in the street while smoking her cigarette, but before she had a seating area to accommodate this habit, to take her grandson, to chat with her neighbors. "My husband has Alzheimer's and he used to leave the house and come here to the terrace. It was good for him to socialize with other people. Now he doesn't go out. I'd also get together here with some friends to chat, have a coffee", regrets. "I feel disgusted. They talk so much about older people like us - and people older than me - but they don't give a damn. I voted for this guy twice. I wouldn't vote for him anymore."
The owners ofIvory they didn't remove the terrace at the end of September in the hope that the Junta would go back on its decision, after some residents had also come out in defense of the "Covid terrace". But the decision was made and Manuel removed the outdoor structure to make room for a car, in a two-way street where the sidewalks are narrow and where there is parking on either side of the road, as well as on the central divider. "Rodrigo da Fonseca, Artilharia Um and S. Filipe Neri streets, as well as the streets in the vicinity of Jardim das Amoreiras, are unequivocally deficient when it comes to parking for residents."writes the Junta de Freguesia de Santo António in an e-mail sent to'Ivory and residents, to which LPP had access. "The decision not to authorize the continued occupation of the parking space is a decision legitimately taken, with the sole aim of defending the public interest and the rights of residents."
Despite "recognizing that esplanades play an important social role, both in promoting economic activity and employment, and as leisure spaces that allow the enjoyment of public space"The municipality also argues that "there are a very significant number of catering establishments in the area that could make similar requests"It is difficult to define these criteria. "Should they all be authorized? What criteria should be applied when choosing establishments?"
Manuel knows that some terraces have created noise problems in residential areas because they serve establishments open until late, but that wasn't the case with his. "We open at 7 and close at 7." And what happened to the state of wood you used to have at the door? "It all went into the fireplace or the trash. We had to chop it up and ask the council to come and collect it." Like others, the "esplanade-Covid" d'Ivory had also been financed by the Lisbon City Council. In front of the Nepalese restaurant we talked about at the beginning of this article, there will once again be a place for a car. The owners of this establishment hired the bricklayer we spoke to to dismantle the structure, who didn't hide his anger at the outcome. "I can't believe that someone from the Council or the Town Hall would come here and dismantle this. Have you seen how much work this is?"he says.
Balance in the city
According to the Lisbon newspaper A Mensagem, a Misericórdia parish council, which belongs to the PS, removed all the temporary terraces in 2022. In Penha de França, also socialist, 28 of the 31 authorized during the pandemic are still active. São Domingos de Benfica, led by the coalition New TimesIn the same way, he wants to keep the terraces of restaurants that have little indoor space and won't survive without them. In Ajuda, a parish also led by the PS, the esplanades will be kept because they are considered to be "a positive resource for the local economy and urban vitality". A study carried out in Canada, for examplehas identified that the economic gain that esplanades can bring to a city is 49 times greater than a parking space.
Em Arroios, vão ficar apenas as esplanadas autorizadas em passeios e as esplanadas que ocupam lugares de estacionamento (pagando a respectiva licença) mas que foram implementadas fora âmbito da pandemia de Covid-19. While for traders the installation of outdoor tables allows them to expand their business area and make their establishments more attractive - in a city that is also full of sunshine - these terraces can also create conflicts in residential areas, especially when the establishments' opening hours extend into the evening. Their demise is viewed favorably by some groups of residents, such as the Neighbors of Arroios associationwhich says that the so-called "Covid terraces" have been used "by a group of nightlife entrepreneurs who saw this measure as an opportunity to create 'open-air bars' in Arroios. In other words, establishments that do most of their business on the street". This association has been denouncing situations of night-time noise in spaces of this type on social networks, praising the decision of the Arroios Council to put an end to this type of equipment.
According to the Neighbors of Arroios, during the pandemic period "hundreds of establishments closed in Lisbon and there were fears for the future of the sector"but in Arroios, "something extraordinary has happened": "no less than 16 new bars with terraces have opened". For this collective, this example "shows just how interesting 'esplanades-Covid' are from an economic point of view". While situations of excess may (and still do) result in complaints from residents, these situations are not widespread throughout the city, as the stories we've told in this piece and in previous articles. Balances are necessary, not forgetting that streets go beyond the provision of parking spaces for residents, or that restaurant terraces are more than just parking spaces. they are still private spaces for compulsory consumption.
