Lisbon’s Baixa mobility debate: ACP calls for Rua da Prata to reopen

The debate over mobility in Lisbon’s Baixa has intensified once again, pitting two entirely opposing visions for the future of the “heart of the capital” against each other. On one side is a petition calling for major restrictions on vehicle traffic; on the other is the Automobile Club of Portugal (ACP), which believes the answer is, instead, to restore space for cars.

Launched in September, the petition, “Lisbon’s Baixa with less traffic and better air quality”, was discussed at a hearing organised by the Santa Maria Maior Residents’ Association. However, it was the comments made by ACP president Carlos Barbosa that drew most attention.

ACP calls for cars to return to Rua da Prata

Quoted by Público, Carlos Barbosa was unequivocal. As well as opposing further restrictions on car traffic in the parish of Santa Maria Maior, he argued that Rua da Prata should be reopened to private vehicles. The street has been closed since December 2022 following the collapse of an underground sewer collector.

Although he supports some of the petitioners’ proposals - including improved road safety, a 30 km/h speed limit, parking priority for residents, and tighter control over the growth of tuk-tuks and TVDE ride-hailing vehicles - the ACP representative rejects the idea of drastically reducing car access to Lisbon’s Baixa.

Rua da Prata at the heart of the dispute

Carlos Barbosa believes that closing Rua da Prata has created an unnecessary bottleneck in traffic through the Baixa. Since the route reopened after works in November 2023, it has been available only to trams, bicycles, scooters and pedestrians.

“I never understood why they closed it,” said the ACP president, arguing that Rua da Madalena has become overloaded, with no workable alternative for motor traffic. In his view, the link between Praça da Figueira and the riverside remains vital to mobility in the city centre.

According to Carlos Barbosa, allowing cars back onto Rua da Prata would ease some of the pressure now concentrated on Rua da Madalena, where buses and other vehicles regularly face congestion.

Petition seeks fewer cars in Lisbon’s Baixa

The petition takes the opposite position, warning of what it describes as an “excess of cars” in Lisbon’s Baixa. It highlights persistent congestion, delays to public transport and the harmful public-health effects caused by the high number of combustion-engine vehicles.

Its proposals include establishing a Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ), restricting access for non-electric vehicles within an area covering Cais do Sodré, Chiado, Rossio, Praça da Figueira and Rua da Madalena. Residents and emergency vehicles would be exempt.

Proposed changes to traffic and public space

The petitioners also call for more bus lanes, upgraded pavements, a continuous cycling network and improved conditions for pedestrians.

Carlos Barbosa, however, considers a measure on that scale unworkable in Portugal’s current circumstances. The ACP president argues that the proportion of electric vehicles on the road remains far too low to accommodate such a wide-ranging restriction.