Residents and traders of Bairro Alto demand more control over Lisbon’s nightlife

Lisbon’s nightlife landmark, Bairro Alto is currently facing worsening nightlife problems, worrying residents and traders who are demanding more control and questioning the council’s proposals.

The sale and consumption of “large quantities of alcohol” is a common problem for residents and traders of Bairro Alto in the parish of Misericordia, who complain of a lack of supervision, especially regarding consumption on public roads, and warn of the existence of operating bar-type establishments, but with licenses for tea rooms

This is because the Urbanization Plan of Bairro Alto and Biqui prohibits the opening of new bars.

Proposed by the Lisbon City Council (CML), led by Carlos Moedas (PSD), the new measures are under public consultation until April 1 to “guarantee a balance between the right to rest and economic activity at night.”

One of the proposals is a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages abroad from 1:00 am in Bairro Alto, Bique, Cais do Sodre and Santos, as well as an obligation for all non-compliant establishments to remain open until 11:00:00 pm. to close at this time.

In the narrow streets of Bairro Alto, the president of the Association of Residents of Fregesia da Misericordia, Luis Paisana, tells Luca that he lived in the area for almost 18 years, but four years ago he decided to live elsewhere “because I couldn’t stay awake.”

According to a representative of residents who goes to the area almost every day, problems associated with nightlife have worsened since Covid-19: “more and more bars, more and more noise, more situations in which it is impossible for people to live.” in a balanced way.”

Regarding the CML’s proposals, Luis Paisana says residents are “a little skeptical about yet another situation that is supposed to improve, but which in practice either gets worse or remains the same.”

Among the measures presented, he says a ban on the sale of alcohol on public roads from 1:00 am is “overdue”, complains that the inspectorate is “not acting as it should” and argues that a zero-licensing law making it easier to open establishments “should be restricted or prohibited.”

Filipe Santiago Dominguez, 55, born and raised in Bairro Alto, has been resisting in the area but has already considered leaving, especially because he has two young children.

According to this resident, both the CML and the Junta da Misericordia could do “more action” to balance residents’ rights to recreation and nightlife.

The proposals under public comment “won’t change much of what’s going on now,” he said, complaining about late-night noise and the “monopoly” of merchants who put their own interests first.

“I can be here and hear noise from the bar in the background. […] the rhythm can be heard over 100 meters away,” he says.

Remembering that residents have the right to vote, the resident notes “a certain action of the parish council that did not exist before” and changes in the actions of the council after the election of Carlos Moedas.

Living alone on Rua da Atalaya, one of the busiest streets at night in Bairro Alto, Albina Lobo, 96, confirms the difficulty of resting: “We want to sleep, but we can’t.”

“It’s a shame at night,” he says, explaining that the situation repeats itself “every day” and that more and more residents are leaving the area, which they don’t do because they have nowhere to go.

About 50 meters away, on Rua da Barroca, 85-year-old Ivone Simão, who has lived in Bairro Alto for almost 30 years, says the situation is “much worse.” The house currently has double glazing and is noise tolerant.

Stating that one ongoing problem is insecurity, the resident says she is “very afraid” to leave her home at night and calls for “more policing and more oversight.”

In a written response, residents’ association Aqui Mora Gente states that “the rules exist, but there is not adequate oversight,” so “instead of meaningless new rules, CML should focus on creating a guide to best inspection practices and train its services and municipal agents on this issue.”

In what “seem to be positive” measures, the association emphasizes that “all open establishments such as tea shops, hair salons, galleries, which are nothing more than bars selling alcohol, will now operate according to the opening hours of tea shops, hair salons and galleries “

With the exception of “two or three” measures, “everything else is a mixture of poorly written, ambiguous rules, some of which do not make much sense, others that establish rules but then offer the possibility of overcoming them, which will lead to nothing, rather the opposite, to address the serious problems of noise, safety, unhealthy conditions, litter, vandalism, crime that the city faces and which have led to the departure of thousands of residents,” the association states, adding that Lisbon cannot “hand over entire parishes.” for selling cheap alcohol on public roads with all the harmful consequences that this entails.”

Defending that the right to rest is “inviolable,” the president of the Association of Merchants of Bairro Alto, Hilario Castro, assures that about 80% of establishments fulfill this duty, and criticizes the existence of “brewers who sponsor this whole environment, because how and the more they sell, all the better”.

Noting that “consumption on public roads is often carried out by people who bring the drink from home, from shops, from minimarkets,” Hilario Castro also complains that after the establishments close, no one monitors or controls the streets.

Regarding the proposals aimed at Bairro Alto, the representative emphasizes that “all the discriminatory measures that may characterize this part of the city are incomprehensible,” regretting that traders are “victims of measures that are then not monitored or controlled.”

“Recently we have seen a shift towards the beverage trade. This in no way helps or in any way favors the entire commercial environment in the historic districts, and that is CML’s responsibility because we are talking about licensing,” he warns.

The owner of Ginjinha das Gáveas in Bairro Alto, António Esteves, understands the CML proposals, but predicts it will be “bad for trade,” especially the ban on selling drinks abroad from 01:00, “because when people want to stop drinking in the street, that’s when people do their best work.”

“How can we control the customer who comes out to drink his drink?” he asks, recalling that the original proposal was to ban the sale of drinks on the street after 23:00, which would have left “most” traders unemployed: “If it is 01:00: 00, there is still a little hope.”

The trader also notes that now 70% of residents are tourists, and 30% are Portuguese, recalls that “Bairro Alto used to be noisy,” and suggests “improving law enforcement” after the closure of establishments.

In response to the Lusa agency, CML reports that Misericordia is the parish that had the most noise inspections between 2019 and 2023, with a total of 1,211 actions, an average of 20 per month, and a total of 281 administrative violations. notifications.

The amendment to the Regulation on the opening hours of establishments for sale to the public and the provision of services in the Municipality of Lisbon, applied since 2016, is another proposal from the CML, stipulating that establishments considered as convenience stores and selling alcoholic beverages must close at 22:00 and that the opening hours of the terraces are now different from the opening hours of the establishments, with a limit of 24 hours.