 Pedestrianisation of Cândido dos Reis street in Almada

By project RESOLVE

Published on 07 June 2018

Portugal

Área Metropolitana de Lisboa

About this good practice

The pedestrianization was implemented in order to qualify one of the main commercial and tourist artery of Cacilhas district. This action was firstly tested as part of the European Mobility Week 2012. This action significantly reduced the presence of cars in the street and improved the quality of life of its inhabitants (noise and air pollution), in particular of people with reduced mobility, while at the same time promoting local economic revitalization (tourism, commerce and retail activities).

Resources needed

For this Good Practice, the total amount of money invested was 522.879,42 €, of which 305.609,42 € from ERDF co-financing and 217.270,00 € from municipal investment.

Evidence of success

The pedestrianization of the street is a huge sucess and contradicted the initial fears of shopkeepers and residents, which feared that local business would suffer. However, many new shops opened in the last years, and an impressive urban regenetarion has occured. Nowadays, we often see in the press a number of complimentary articles on the results obtained. In several media Cacilhas is often described as a reference area, both for investment and the tourist-recreational components.

Potential for learning or transfer

The pedestrianization of a street with a very dense commercial activity increased the number of visitors and the commercial activity in the area, ate the same time promoting better quality of life and alternative forms of mobility (walking and cycling). A key sucess factor was the political will to implement changes even with initial strong opposition from shopkeepers, but also the communication strategy that was implemented - a dense program of activities, which began on the day of the inauguration of the pedestrianization project and lasted for three months, had the objective of giving visibility to the street and the intervention, reinforcing the socializing, recreational and tourist function of the public space and valuing the commercial activities, in particular restaurants and similar.