“We want to enhance the banks of the Mondego as a major public space in Coimbra, combining natural regeneration with urban requalification, expanding green areas and leisure facilities, and integrating the left bank, which has been neglected,” stated the candidate.
After a half-hour boat trip on the Mondego, powered by solar energy, the candidate remarked that the Mondego River “is the symbol of Coimbra.”
However, its waters and banks are “totally underused,” with the river needing “more care” and “dredging.”
“The Mondego is a natural resource still vastly underexplored for social living, sports practice, and promoting physical and mental health. However, for this, we need excellent infrastructure to train top athletes and host major competitions, transforming the river into a prime venue for non-motorized water sports and major events.”
In a statement, the candidate highlighted that the left bank “does not exist for the city,” emphasizing the plan for its urban integration with the development of top-notch sports infrastructure.
“We will renaturalize the banks and care for the living river, restoring the Mondego’s margins through riparian ecosystem recovery and native species formation. We aim to utilize the river’s banks from Portela to Choupal, with urban river beaches, and indeed, close to the Exploratory, we plan to create one with leisure areas, sports facilities, and socializing spaces that encourage community interaction with the river.”
The former Minister of Territorial Cohesion also mentioned the goal of beginning work on an integrated plan for the Santa Clara bank, coordinating it with the Innovation District planned for Coimbra’s downtown, ensuring urban space qualification and city center revitalization.
“The idea here is for the downtown area to cross the river and extend into Santa Clara, and for the planned Innovation District downtown to also extend to Santa Clara. This city center revitalization should include the river, combining housing, commerce, services with cultural, educational, and sports facilities, promoting sustainable mobility, creating qualified green spaces, and establishing a tangible connection to the river,” she explained.
The candidate further advocated for the creation of a specialized training center on the left bank for water sports, including rowing, canoeing, open water swimming, and triathlon, equipped to accommodate local, national, and international athletes.
“We want to have the capability to organize top-level competitions, and this Mondego training center also involves upgrading the existing water sports centers,” she added.
Ana Abrunhosa also referred to Praça da Canção, currently functioning as “a festival ground,” but wants to transform it “into a true Praça da Canção in the full sense of the term.”
“With urban equipment, leisure areas, restrooms, and children’s facilities. It’s unimaginable to look at the left bank, a privileged area, and see it deserted and neglected for most of the year,” she concluded.
Besides Ana Abrunhosa from the PS, the candidates in the elections on the 12th include the current mayor José Manuel Silva from the coalition Juntos Somos Coimbra (PSD/IL/CDS/Nós, Cidadãos!/PPM/Volt/MPT); Francisco Queirós from CDU (PCP/PEV coalition); former deputy José Manuel Pureza from the Left Bloc; Maria Lencastre Portugal from Chega; Sancho Antunes from ADN; and Tiago Martins from Nova Direita.
