The Gaia City Council is set to launch a public tender, not advertised internationally, valued at 84,000 euros for specialized services in collecting road and pedestrian traffic data, as announced in a recent press release.
The administration, led by Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues, noted that data from the Institute of Mobility and Transport (IMT) indicate a rising level of traffic constraints in the municipality, significantly impacting local travel on municipal roads.
The municipal executive deems the acquisition of these services “important” since it will allow them to quantify traffic flows for various mobility models at strategic points on the roads, enabling a better understanding of demand and user behavior patterns.
“The results obtained will facilitate the anticipation and minimization of the impacts of proposed changes in road circulation or urban redevelopment actions, understanding traffic volumes and flow, and assessing the performance of specific roads, environmental impact, and compliance with modal and climate targets,” the statement adds.
According to the proposal, the service provision will include actions such as directional traffic counts, measuring queue lengths, surveying travel times, assessing instantaneous speeds at sections, conducting origin-destination surveys, opinion surveys, and analyzing and simulating proposals.
The collected information will allow for the estimation of pollutant emission levels, which is crucial for monitoring the achievement of the European policies’ targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues emphasized in the statement that “sustainable mobility and road safety are priorities for the municipality,” and gathering “precise data” aims to “make informed decisions and improve the quality of life for citizens.”
The proposal is scheduled to be voted on at the City Council meeting on Monday at 3:00 PM in the Manuel Menezes de Figueiredo Auditorium.
