“This is one of the measures we will certainly implement (…), we will try to link it with the design of the new Avenida Nun’ Álvares, as these two infrastructures will be complementary,” stated Pedro Duarte today during a walk through the União das freguesias de Aldoar, Foz do Douro, and Nevogilde.
For the candidate, it’s “evident” that these two roads “are not in good condition.”
“We will find a solution that causes less discomfort to motorists, but that greatly prioritizes public transport and especially the pedestrian spaces and bike lanes that should exist,” he promised.
The reversal of the controversial intervention made in 2019 on Avenida do Brasil and Avenida de Montevideu, in that union of parishes, which included a bike lane on the roadway, was one of the measures outlined in the 2021 agreement between the PSD and Rui Moreira’s independent movement, and it has yet to be realized.
When asked by journalists about a proposal from the Chega candidate, who wants parishes to limit residence certificates in their territories, Pedro Duarte reaffirmed that he would be “absolutely uncompromising with circumstances that do not comply with the legality and regularity of a city that should be decent, even from a human perspective.”
Pedro Duarte also guaranteed that joining forces with Chega after the elections is “out of the question.”
The former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs revisited the topic of immigration and challenged candidate Manuel Pizarro (PS) to express “what he thinks” about the national immigration policy.
On Thursday, Pizarro did not directly answer Pedro Duarte’s question but instead challenged him to state whether he supports “government-moderated rents up to 2,300 euros” or the moderated rents proposed in the Socialist program for Porto.
“Regarding what matters to the city and to the Porto City Hall, our proposal is very clear. We will maintain the table the city hall currently has for affordable rental,” responded Pedro Duarte, expressing disagreement with the PS model “which has a single rent.”
Reiterating their belief that affordable rent should be adjusted to families’ incomes, Pedro Duarte also argued that the PS’s commitment to build five thousand houses would “indebt” the people of Porto.
However, Pedro Duarte stated that he does not consider 2,300 euros a moderate rent.
“No, [I don’t think it’s a moderate value], I think it’s a matter, if you will, of semantics. Because the Government’s proposal—and it’s not up to me to defend it—is very clear that it’s up to that value. For instance, in Porto, such rents are unthinkable and will never happen with what the city hall’s support represents,” he stated.
Candidates running for Porto City Hall include Manuel Pizarro (PS), Diana Ferreira (CDU – PCP/PEV coalition), Nuno Cardoso (Porto Primeiro – NC/PPM coalition), Pedro Duarte (PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition), Sérgio Aires (BE), current vice president Filipe Araújo (Fazer à Porto – independent), Guilherme Alexandre Jorge (Volt), Hélder Sousa (Livre), Miguel Corte-Real (Chega), Frederico Duarte Carvalho (ADN), Maria Amélia Costa (PTP), and Luís Tinoco Azevedo (PLS).
The current executive consists of a majority of six elected members from Rui Moreira’s movement and one independent councilor, with the remaining members comprising two elected from the PS, two from the PSD, one from the CDU, and one from the BE.
The local elections are scheduled for October 12.
