Navegante pass holders can park for free in the Colégio Militar, Ameixoeira and Avenida de Pádua parks in Lisbon from this Wednesday. This measure prevents cars from entering the city and encourages the use of public transport.
“Our main objective is to keep cars out of Lisbon, in other words, to reduce the number of cars in Lisbon. It is a city of 540,000 people, but every day 360,000 cars enter the city, and for this purpose, as we said at the beginning, we need to get people out of their cars so that they can use public transport,” said the mayor of Lisbon.
Carlos Moedas spoke to Lusa after the unveiling of the Parque Navegante sign in the parking lot already located at the Colégio Militar, which has 415 spaces.
Also this Wednesday, two more car parks of the Lisbon Mobility and Parking Company (EMEL) will be available in this mode, in Ameixoira and Avenida de Padua (Olivais), and three more parks are expected to be added to the list in September – two in Telheiras and then one in Azinhaga da Cidade (Ameixeira).
Carlos Moedas recalled that the city of Lisbon is “one of the few in Europe” where there is free public transport “for young and old” and that the goal is “a more sustainable city with fewer cars.”
“This must be done gradually, and not in opposition to one another,” said the Social Democrat, recalling the goal of making Lisbon a carbon-neutral city by 2030 and the “contract” signed with the European Commission as part of the “100” carbon-neutral mission cities in Europe (in this case, the target is 2050).
The process of using the Navegante public transport pass in the first three available EMEL parks involves checking in the cabin/reception desk of the corresponding park, after which access is activated. Parking in this mode is available from 07:30 to 21:00.
“There are parks where a lot of people already bring their cars, but there are others, like Ameikoeira, where there are fewer people and we want to encourage them to leave their cars. […] The important thing is that the parks at the entrance to Lisbon are starting to accept passes, and people no longer pay for the park and have no excuse for not using public transport,” the mayor stressed.
There are 489 spaces in Ameicoeira Park, 248 spaces in Avenida de Padua Park, 155 spaces in Telheiras Pente Park and 106 spaces in Telheiras Nacente Park.
The Azinhaga da Cidade park (165 spaces) will open later this year, according to a city council source.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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