More than a year and a half later, and with a promise of removal in between, the Almirante Reis Avenue bike path is officially complete.
More than a year and a half later, the traffic lights at the intersections linking the Almirante Reis and Guerra Junqueiro cycle paths, in the Alameda area, have been activatedThis will give users of bicycles and other soft modes of mobility greater safety when crossing. Although installed during Medina's mandate, these traffic lights had never been turned on and so people managed to get by.
A traffic lights for bicycles in the Alameda area were part of the second Almirante Reis cycle path projectThe first version, in two-way format, sparked some controversy and began to be implemented on the ground in March 2021. But this second project was not completed when the executive changedMoedas, who had made the Almirante Reis cycle path a topic of friction in the city (and beyond) during the election campaign, left the work suspended.
The new mayor of Lisbon had campaigned on a promise to remove the bike path ("if I am president, no bike lane on Almirante Reis", told Público in April 2021); and, in the first months of the mandate, the issue ended up being on the city's agenda, with doubts hanging over whether the bike lane would actually be removed. In this limbo of uncertainty, thousands of people tried to make their voices heard, between large demonstrations, one of the largest petitions to be delivered to the Municipal Assembly and other forms of struggle; the left-wing opposition, on the other hand, was critical of Moedas and ensured that the issue of the cycle path was not off the agenda.
As time went by, it became clear that, after all, the bike lane would not be removed and, at the beginning of this year, the promotion of a controversial participatory processwhich culminated in Moedas presenting a third bike lane proposal. However, this new project - which could cost between 290 and 400 thousand euros - ended up not making it off the drawing board, in a city that never seemed to forget the issue and where the best way to "lower the discussion" it was leave everything as it was.
Moedas' plans for Almirante Reis now include launching an ideas competition for young architects to reimagine the avenue and the entire axis. Meanwhile, Livre already has a proposal for that arteryand the PCP wants a participatory urban plan to be developed for the avenue and all its surroundings.
But with the bike lane as it is, the traffic lights in the Alameda area had yet to be connected. The two cycle crossings located there - one to allow bicycles to pass from the Almirante Reis cycle path to the promenade area of the central body of the Alameda and the other to access the Guerra Junqueiro cycle path - were not critical. With the traffic lights switched off, the bicycle would always have priority under the Highway Code, but with the heavy traffic and the speeds practiced in that area, it couldn't be expected that the Code would be respected to the letter by motorists here.
So the cyclists would improvise and cross when no one was coming - which happened several times because of the traffic lights.
Now, if you ride a bicycle or any other soft mode in this area you have to wait twice for traffic lights if you choose to do everything according to the rules - that is, you have to wait for the green to leave the Almirante Reis cycle path and go to the central area of Alameda, and then you have to wait for the green again to get to Guerra Junqueiro.
A crosswalk (aka crosswalk) has been adjusted and moved next to the bicycle crossing. There is now a flashing orange light warning motorists that they need to watch out for pedestrians and bicycles alikeBut it's best to look twice before crossing in this area.
On the first day of the traffic lights being switched on in Alameda, Lisboa Para Pessoas found users unaware or ignorant of them. Some people were observed on bicycles or scooters crossing informally or improvised in this area, as they would have done before, passing next to the traffic lights; and perhaps, given the discomfort that these now traffic-lighted intersections offer in terms of waiting times, many will continue to improvise.
It should be noted that the GIRA station in Alameda has not (yet?) been rerouted, even though this was also planned in the cycle path project. This station, in its current location, is in the middle of the road for cyclists between Almirante Reis and Guerra Junqueiro, forcing them to be careful when cycling in order to avoid collisions with pedestrians.
