The Via Estruturante de Santa Clara has started to be built in Galinheiras, one of Lisbon's most peripheral, forgotten and disadvantaged areas. It will be a new mobility axis, where all modes will fit, including cycling.
Establish a quality public space in Santa Claraa forgotten parish in Lisbon, and to start building a Via Estruturante in this areaThe main objective of the work that is underway in the das Chicken coopswith the support of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
The work is largely focused on, the redevelopment of Avenida Glicínia Quartin, extending northwards and also covering Rua António Vilar, Rua Carlos Rocha and Rua Maluda, as well as the accesses to Feira das Galinheiras. These streets will be part of the future Via Estruturante de Santa ClaraThis is an urban axis that will run along the parish, passing through Ameixoeira and Azinhaga da Cidade, until it meets the parish of Lumiar next to the large landscaped square under the IP7. The idea is to make a city in this area of Lisbon - peripheral, forgotten and disadvantaged - and which has been left behind in urban planning and integration policies.
"Through the implementation of a continuous and qualified public space, the aim is to introduce into the community a positive dynamic of territorial transformation that counteracts the current trends of physical and social fragmentation"This can be read in the project description, which you can download at the end of the article. "In this way, we hope to reverse the process of social exclusion, the degradation of buildings and public spaces and the peripheralization of that area, establishing continuity with the more qualified urban areas located around it and the Central Axis of Alta de Lisboa, through which centrality is given to a territory that has hitherto been peripheral. It is from this vision that the proposal to materialize this new urban road emerges (…).“
A Via Estruturante de Santa Clara is a project that is part of the Santa Clara Urban Rehabilitation Area (ARU)The first phase of the project was approved in 2018 and is now being carried out with PRR funds, within the scope of the Metropolitan Support Plan for the Disadvantaged Communities of AML. Cycle routes will be introduced along the entire axis, either in the form of 30+ bike lanes or segregated cycle paths. In the case of Avenida Glicínia Quartin, a cycle path similar to the one on Avenida Almirante Reis will be laid out, i.e. in the center of the road by reducing the width available for car traffic. Bus stops will be installed along the avenue so that there can be a better range of public transport in the area, and several new safe pedestrian crossings will be created. In essence, the Via Estruturante de Santa Clara will be a road open to all modes of mobility.
The entire intervention area will be Zone 30There will be raised crosswalks and intersections, where the curvature radii will be reduced and where there will be no overly wide roads. The sidewalks will be redone with comfortable and accessible paving, some will be widened; bollards will be placed to block abusive parking and architectural barriers in the public space will be removed; there will be a general reorganization of car parking and pockets will be created for bicycle parking; there will be a significant increase in tree planting (130 new trees are to be planted in addition to the 70 existing ones - in fact, there are 88 trees but 18 will be cut down for phytosanitary reasons) and green spaces throughout the intervention; there will be an increase in the supply of street furniture such as benches and bins, and an improvement in the public lighting system; new spaces will be created for people to enjoy the outdoors; and two traffic circles will be implemented.
"Creating more safety, better mobility and greater comfort, particularly for the most vulnerable users of the public space, is an objective of this intervention, particularly through the reorganization and (re)design of the local public space, in search of an increasingly welcoming and inclusive territory, friendly to the population that lives, works and studies in it, but also to the population that visits it on a daily basis.", the project description reads. "The aim is to materialize in this area a set of guidelines that aim to promote a 'better' use of public space, valuing its appropriation by pedestrians, particularly children, thus seeking to give this urban environment greater dignity by reinforcing and enhancing its image and urban identity."
The work in progress will also improving the public space around the Galineiras marketThe project also includes the creation of new ramped accesses, a reorganization of car parking to provide no less than 100 spaces, and the planting of 30 new trees to reduce the heat island effect on hotter days, resulting from the extensive area paved with bituminous concrete. It should also be noted that the project takes into account children's access to EB1 Galinheiras, not only by creating accessible pedestrian routes, but also by extending the cycle network that will exist in the neighborhood after this intervention to the school entrance.
The first phase of the Via Estruturante de Santa Clara is a contract being carried out by SRU, the municipal works company, and is being executed by Protecnil. It will take 16 months to complete, which means it should be finished by 2025. The cost is 3.26 million euros.
