In Chiado, the streets are finally left to the people

Lisbon City Council (CML) is pushing the button on the dear streets of Chiado as of August. Parking spaces are being removed one by one, especially in Rua Garrett, Rua Nova do Almada, Calçada do Sacramento, Rua Ivens, Rua Serpa Pinto, Rua Anchieta and Rua do Carmo. The goal is clear: To widen the sidewalks and give pedestrians breathing space. So how will this expansion be done? For now, they have chosen a somewhat "practical" method; Pavements will be widened with temporary paints, imitating the patterns of existing Portuguese pavements (calçada). Flower pots, portable benches and street furniture will be placed to separate pedestrian paths from vehicles. However, since there will be no physical barrier, there are questions about how long these painted areas will keep vehicles out. 4 Thousand Vehicles Against 20 Thousand Pedestrians The research clearly shows how unbalanced the picture actually is. While approximately 20,000 pedestrians pass through Rua Garrett a day, the number of vehicles passing through the same street is only 4,000. In other words, people bore the burden of the street, but most of the space was occupied by cars. With this move: Rua Garrett will have 40% more pedestrian space (especially the Nossa Senhora dos Mártires Church side is prioritized for its shade areas). Rua Nova do Almada will have 27% wider sidewalks, Rua Ivens will have 32% wider sidewalks, and Rua Serpa Pinto will have 27% wider sidewalks. Rua Anchieta, which is already a semi-pedestrian road, will be completely closed to vehicle traffic. A total of 46 parking spaces belonging to EMEL are being removed. The remaining limited areas will be reserved only for neighborhood residents and loading/unloading vehicles. CML Transportation Officer Gonçalo Reis also states that the infrastructure does not match people's usage habits, which is why they made such a gradual change. The fact that there are 1,200 vacant spaces in the surrounding underground car parks is one of the factors that facilitated this step. There Is No Parking But There Is Still Traffic The paradoxical part is this: Parking spaces are being removed, but vehicle traffic is not completely prevented. In fact, if the ZER ABC (Zero Emission Parking, Parking and Environment) project, which was brought to the agenda in 2020 but was later shelved, had been realized, 40,000 vehicles per day would have been prevented from entering the Baixa and Chiado region. The current administration prefers a gradual transition rather than completely cutting off traffic. This project, called "Viva A Rua" (Long Live the Street), will be implemented successively in other busy points of the city, such as Rua de Belém and Rua da Escola Politécnica, after Chiado. Although this is good news for those who like to explore Chiado on foot, we will all see in the coming days how useful the sidewalks widened with paint will be in the field. News Source: LPP (Lisboa Para Pessoas) - 3 August 2026 Image Credits / Photos: Francisco Romão Pereira / LPP & CML (Lisbon City Council)