The Lisbon Municipal Assembly approved on Tuesday the chamber’s proposal to postpone the mandate contract signed with the Municipal Mobility and Parking Company of Lisbon (EMEL) for the construction of cycle lanes for 2020-2022.
“Voting against this proposal is a vote against financial efficiency from the very beginning, because if we stay with this mandate contract, the contract retains captive funds, the entire amount of contract funds, which means that it cannot be applied to other investment projects. “. , Lisbon Deputy Mayor Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP) said, asking to wait for the results of the cycle path inspection to reassess the projects.
The House’s proposal for a third amendment to the 2020-2022 cycle lane contract was approved by votes against the Liberal Initiative (IL) and Chega abstaining BE, Livre, PEV, PCP, independent MP for Cidadãos. Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), PS and MPT, plus votes in favor of PSD, PAN, Aliança and CDS-PP.
Filipe Anacoreta Correia, who is also in charge of mobility, explained that this contract was signed in 2020, when an execution of about 12 million euros was expected, but just over 300 thousand euros were executed.
Citing that performance in 2020 and 2021 “has been very poor,” the vice president defended a “re-evaluation of performance” by rescheduling planned projects, recalling that the chief executive had hired an auditor with a tenure of eight months. but expects that from the fourth month the results of some partial checks will begin to be published.
“Based on this audit, we will also be able to reassess the investments that can be made and the benchmarks for new projects,” he said.
In response to MPs, Anacoreta Correia said that the Novos Tempos (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) coalition, led by Carlos Moedas (PSD), who presides over the Lisbon Chamber without an absolute majority, never said this. won’t make more bike lanes, but that it’s “against unsafe bike lanes that cause problems, so it’s important to do this research.”
The vice president assured that without the need to “create bike lanes in a hurry”, the executive branch intends to “create conditions for seamless mobility and other alternative forms”, adding that this work is ongoing, “it is an ongoing process.” and the audit will allow for a reassessment.
“But since there are already projects that have been approved and do not raise serious questions, nothing prevents us from moving forward punctually and in a balanced way,” he stressed.
Also under this mandate, which expires in 2025, the leadership of PSD/CDS-PP wants to complete the construction of a cycle path in the coastal part of the city, which was envisaged in the election program of the Novos Tempos coalition.
Against a proposal to reschedule this mandate contract with EMEL, IL MP Rodrigo Mello Gonçalves asked “what is the basis for decisions” regarding investment in bike lanes, and Chega elected member Nuno Pardal asked about the audit requested by the National Civil Engineering Laboratory. Engineering (LNEC), including the cycle path on Avenida Almirante Reis.
PS MP Luis Coelho criticized the “slow pace” of the current leader in the ongoing projects and stated that “Lisbon can no longer wait for the expansion of its cycling network.”
Paulo Muacho of the Livre party also accused the executive of “lack of ambition and vision” in terms of mobility, which has “34 projects for new bike lanes that could be built” in a desk drawer, while PAN MP António Valente highlighted the low speed of execution of the contract with EMEL.
At the suggestion of the PS, the assembly approved a recommendation for a council to ensure greater cleanliness and safety in the parish of Parque das Nações, voted against by PPM, PSD, MPT, Aliança, CDS-PP, Chega and PS MP Miguel Coelho and votes in favor of BE, Livre, PEV , PCP, two deputies for Cidadãos Por Lisboa, PS, PAN and IL.
The municipal group presented a vote of condolence in memory of the victims of the massacres on March 15, 1961 in Angola, which was approved against the votes of PEV and PCP, abstentions of BE, Livre, Cidadãos Por Lisboa and PS MP Alexandra Mota Torres, and votes in favor of PS, PSD, PAN, IL, MPT, PPM, Aliança, CDS-PP and Chega.
BE proposed a vote against the glorification of the colonial past in the Praça do Imperio in the parish of Belém, but it was rejected.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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