On the 26th September 2017, 20 people from four delegations of RESOLVE partner cities (Reggio Emilia, Manchester, Maribor and Warsaw) visited the city of Almada for a Study Visit.
The 20 participants were interested in knowing more about a series of good practices that the Municipality of Almada has implemented in the frameworks of its sustainable mobility policies, namely:
- Almada “Better without cars” campaign
- “New Residents” Welcome kit
- “Almada BUS Saúde” (Flexible mobility service)
- Pedestrianization of Cândido dos Reis Street
- Metro Sul do Tejo (light rail system)
- Cycle path network
This event started at 9:30 in the Municipal House of Environment, where Mrs. Catarina Freitas, Head of Department for Environment, Climate, Energy and Mobility provided some welcome words and introduced the work in Almada and the expected outcomes for the day. Afterwards, and during the morning, Mr. Pedro Gomes (AGENEAL, Local Energy Management Agency of Almada) and Mr. Jorge Aleixo (Department for Environment, Climate, Energy and Mobility, City Council of Almada) made a presentation about the initiatives developed in Almada in the scope of the city’s Local Strategy for Sustainable Mobility. The good practices were presented in detail and the attendees had the opportunity to see some of the materials, including the contents of the “New Residents Welcome kit”, a promotional video of the “Better without cars” campaign.
After a Q&A session, the participants visited the city center, in particular the pedestrianized “Cândido dos Reis” Street, one of the good practices. The participants had also the opportunity to try out the “Metro Sul do Tejo” light rail system and the “Almada BUS Saúde”, a flexible mobility service which started operation in the previous Friday.
The Study Visit finished with a field observation of a part of the Cycle Network of Almada, where the participants had the chance to witness some of the challenges and constraints that the City council needs to respond daily, in particular the enforcement of a correct use of the cycling infrastructure by car users, and the enforcement of parking regulations, which are key to achieve a safe and disseminated use of the bicycle as alternative transport in Almada.
The Study Visit officially ended in the afternoon with a highly satisfied group of visitors.
