Lisbon, Almada, Alfragide, Bobadela and Mafra have already joined the "Kidical Mass" movement, but any city, town, village or parish can do so. In the Lisbon Metropolitan Area or all over the country.
Every month, on the last Friday, at the end of the day, a variable group of people get together to cycle through the streets of Lisbon, traditionally starting at Marquês de Pombal. The movement is known as Massa Crítica, it has been going on since 2003 and the goal is to publicly demand better safety and quality of public space for all, in particular for cyclists. But... what about the children? The children who are silently confronted every day with cities that are inhospitable to them, to their need to move, and to their uncontrollable desire to play?
Thus, the Kidical Mass (Critical Mass of Children), a global movement that a group of concerned adults decided to bring to Portugal this year. The goal is to encourage children and adults to use the bicycle in their daily commutes, demanding the improvement of cycling infrastructure and the pacification of streets, especially in school surroundings. In 2022, the international event Kidical Mass happens on the weekend of May 14th and 15th and several locations in Portugal are organizing through their local communities to participate with tours, joining Barcelona, Brussels, Cologne and other cities.
With the motto "Room for the Next Generation", a Kidical Mass It can be organized anywhere in the country, as long as there are people and the will to do it. For now, three cities, one parish and one town in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) are confirmed - Lisbon, Almada, Mafra, Alfragide (parish of Amadora) and Bobadela (town of Loures) -.; besides Évora, Caldas da Rainha, Tavira, Viseu, Aveiro, Porto/Matosinhos, Guimarães and Braga.
To add your area to this list, all you have to do is get a group of friends together and then:
- Choose a day (between May 14 and 15)and a time and place of departure;
- Define a route in your area that is accessible to children of all ages. Preferably, end at a place where a convivial picnic can be held and involve the children in activities where they can make posters and drawings of what the streets should look like;
- Communicate the event to the promoters of the Kidical Mass in Portugal to be included on the site and on the movement map by e-mail [email protected].
Each Kidical Mass can run like a parade under the "demonstrations law" or as a simple friends' outing, leaving it up to each location to choose how it wants to organize itself. In case you choose to organize the Critical Mass of Children as a formal demonstration to, for example, occupy a square or a street, three promoters of the event should notify in writing, and at least two working days in advance, the President of the respective City Hall. In this case, you can use this draft.
If the organizing city opts for the figure of the "demonstration", such an event will certainly be accompanied by the competent authorities, free of charge.
The main demands of the Kidical Mass in Portugal are:
- Safe school surroundings that are free of air pollution, noise, and crossing motorized traffic.
- Safe routes to schools.
- Child-friendly road traffic laws, with "Vision Zero" as a top premise.
- Limit of 30 km/h in towns and streets with people.
- Wide, continuous bicycle lanes with safe intersections on major roads.
- More public space dedicated to active mobility and to be/play.
You can learn more about the movement Kidical Mass in Portugal here. We will update this article when details about the events in AML are available.
