Porto will have 30 kilometers of priority routes for cyclists, scooters and walkers.

The Porto City Council will implement a network of priority routes for soft mobility that will cover about 30 kilometers of streets and set a maximum speed of 20 kilometers per hour in some cases.

Speaking to the Lusa agency, Pedro Bagaña, councilor for urban planning of the Chamber of Porto, explained that the program called Rede 20 intends to give priority to means of easy mobility: bicycles, scooters and, above all, pedestrians.

“The city center must change,” said Pedro Bagaña.

With this network, the public space will have different streets: some dedicated to vehicular traffic, which are part of the road network defined in the Municipal Master Plan (MMP), and others with traffic restrictions, which will become part of Network 20. .

The network will be centered in the city center on a 2.4 square kilometer polygon defined by Alvares Cabral and Gonçalo Cristovana streets (to the north), Restaurasan, D. Manuel II, Maternidad, Boa Nova and Boa Ora streets (to the west). , and along the streets of Alegria and Fontenhas (to the east).

Pedestrianization of streets, expansion of existing Conditional Access Areas for Vehicles (ZAAC) and the creation of common streets with a speed limit of 20 kilometers per hour will be some of the measures that will be implemented under the program.

Action will evolve as the city center “no longer suffers from subway work-in-progress restrictions” leading to a new pink line.

“We want the center to open with a different paradigm after the completion of the metro work,” the adviser stressed.

Network 20 will be rolled out gradually and is expected to be completed in three years.

The first phase of the project, which will begin this Tuesday, includes the implementation of speed control measures on 12 of the 30 kilometers of streets, such as placing signs and raising the space designated for traffic.

Of the 12 kilometers covered in this phase, three are Air Conditioned Car Access Areas (ZAAC) that already exist in Porto.

On-street parking will be guaranteed for residents, as well as for loading and unloading vehicles.

In total, the program includes 51.4 km of streets, of which 21.8 km are for the car network and 29.6% for the soft mobility network.

The development of the Rua de Alexandri Braga pedestrian street, one of the arteries around the Mercado do Bolhao, was already part of the municipal plan to create a pedestrian zone in the historic center of Porto.

The presentation of the project is scheduled for this Tuesday, at 10:30, in Largo Amor de Perdizao, in a meeting with the planned presence of the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, and the councilor responsible for urbanism.