The Porto City Council will present its plan for the pedestrianization of the historic center at the end of the year, councilor Pedro Baganha told journalists on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Cidades que Caminham congress, which runs until Friday.
“[O plano] He’s prepared. We are currently determining the best time to introduce it, but it will probably be until the end of this year. Probably, first, in a municipal seat and then publicly disclosed, ”the councilor for Urban Planning and Public Space and Housing told the press on Thursday.
The municipal official was speaking to journalists after the opening of the Walking Cities congress, organized by the Institute of Cities and Towns with Mobility (ICVM) at the Manuel António da Mota Foundation, in Porto, and which aims to discuss urban mobility sustainable.
Pedro Baganha clarified that the “specific plan for the pedestrianization of the historic center” covers the area that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.
Despite being a plan that foresees future actions, the truth is that we are already acting, specifically with the Conditioned Car Access Zones. [ZAAC]that are already implanted, to a large extent, in that territory”, he told the journalists, without wanting to give more details before his disclosure in the City Council.
In his presentation at the congress, the member of the municipal executive headed by the independent Rui Moreira considered that the plan for the pedestrianization of the historic center should be “easier to implement”, precisely because the ZAACs already exist.
“Now it’s about rehabilitation of the historic center and the rationality of a strictly pedestrian network“, he added, at the opening of the congress.
Pedro Baganha also referred to the afforestation plan for the city’s public space, considering it “much more pleasant to live and walk on a shaded street protected from urban heat islands than on an inhospitable street.”
He then told reporters that the plan “is for the entire city of Porto” and “corresponds to a strategy that determines what types of trees, what types of boilers, where they should be planted”, in the event of an intervention or work. in the public space, defining “what are the good practices and the practices that should be avoided”.
“It follows an intention already expressed in the municipal ecological structure, the Municipal Master Plan [PDM]that advocates, as a network of ecological connection, for urban spaces that are cultivable”, he explained.
According to Pedro Baganha, the plan focuses “more on typologies of public space than on saying that ‘this street will be and that street will not be’” with trees.
“This is in line with our own city decarbonisation strategy which, as you know, is also very ambitious,” he said.
On January 31, the Porto Climate Pact was launched, which is voluntary, non-binding and free for any person or organization, regardless of size, prior action or legal personality.
The intention is “for the city to be able to anticipate” the carbon neutrality goals set by the European Commission from 2050 to 2030 and, “with this ambition, assume national leadership in this matter”, explained Filipe Araújo, to Lusa, on January 29, Vice President of the Porto City Council, responsible for the Environment and Climate Transition area.
Source: Observadora
