In the São Miguel neighborhood in Alvalade, the GIRA station will move from the two car parking spaces it currently occupies to a new location, previously prepared by the Parish Council as part of the redevelopment of the neighborhood's public space. With this change, the station will gain five more bicycle docks.
A GIRA station 450, in the São Miguel neighborhood of Alvalade, will have a new location, agreed between the Parish Council, Lisbon City Council and EMEL. The station will be moved from a parking area, where it occupies two car spaces, to a pedestrian space - a sidewalk area that does not have a direct circulation function.
In order to make this change without disrupting the service, a new station was installed in the new location with 15 docksThis is an increase of 50% compared to the current station, which has only 10 docks and will be decommissioned when the new infrastructure can be made available.
According to the Alvalade Parish Council, this change "it was only possible due to the great insistence, for more than two years, on the part of the Parish Council together with many residents of the São Miguel neighborhood". The new location was prepared by the Junta itself during a public space project in that neighborhood in 2019 to make it a Zone 30.
More bicycle docks, more parking spaces
On project of this redevelopment - which was aimed at improving pedestrian mobility but also at increase parking supply in an area where there is a lot of pressure The council, then led by José António Borges (PS), designed a "dead area" to place the GIRA station, in order to free up the two car parking spaces that the bike-sharing infrastructure currently occupies. On site, this space was made into a sidewalk and an access ramp was created for the comfort of GIRA users.
But the relocation of the infrastructure, which was the responsibility of EMEL, was not carried out at the time. Only now, in mid-January, has the municipal mobility company installed a new station on the site planned by the Alvalade Council, which has since passed into the hands of José Amaral Lopes (PSD).
A source at the local authority told LPP that "this relocation does not change GIRA's operations in that area"In addition to increasing the supply of shared bicycles, "there is room for more docks", but also "increase the safety of bicycle users, who are now better protected when starting and finishing their journey"he adds.
For the Junta de Alvalade, this change makes it possible to "creation of 1 or 2 more parking spaces, a factor highly valued by the population (maintaining the existing motorcycle pool)", according to the neighborhood redevelopment project carried out in 2019. "It is important to note that today we are waiting for the new station (already installed) to start working and for the old one to be deactivated and removed"adds the same source from the parish.
Relocating an already-installed GIRA station is not simple, as it involves installing new power lines and activating them, a process in which EMEL depends on its energy supplier. On the other hand, relocation is not without its costs, estimating that installation of a GIRA station with 20 docks has a maximum unit cost of 35 thousand euros. In this case, new materials have been installed instead of using existing ones; this will not mean waste, since the docks of the station that are still in operation - which are of the first generation - can be used for replacements and repairs.
