The protest vote against the government’s measures, which the CDU claims “solve nothing and postpone everything,” was rejected with votes against by the independent movement and PSD, while PS and BE voted in favor.
The measures in question, announced Thursday by Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz, aim to reduce traffic on the VCI. Proposals include making the A41/CREP highway “tendentially free” for heavy goods vehicles and creating a working group to devise traffic deterrence measures.
In the protest, the CDU argues that the minister “did not meet the deadlines he committed to, presented no ‘definitive solution,’ and offered no concrete proposals, just vague intentions, postponing everything to a time when no one knows who will be in charge.”
Speaking after the executive’s private meeting, Joana Rodrigues from CDU argued for the possibility of toll exemptions for all vehicles on the CREP, calling it a “matter of political will.”
“A strategy must be defined and implemented. The VCI issue is not new; it has existed for years,” she noted.
Councilor Sérgio Aires from BE also found the protest valid, suggesting the announced measure by the authorities “seems more election-focused than anything else.”
“It’s only a proposal for a much larger problem,” he stated.
Representing PS, Maria João Castro shared CDU’s concerns, noting that the party had expected the current government to have implemented some measures by now.
“CDU’s concerns are legitimate for the residents of Porto,” she stated.
Similarly, the mayor, Rui Moreira, expressed sympathy for CDU’s concerns but deemed presenting a protest pointless “with a government already in a caretaker status for missing the December 31 deadline.”
“For the municipality, one crucial issue is the tolls on the CREP for heavy goods vehicles. It’s been a long-standing struggle for Porto, and it seemed unproductive to protest a matter that, despite everything, appears to be on the way to a resolution,” he remarked.
The social-democrat Mariana Ferreira Macedo considered the government’s measure to exempt tolls for heavy goods vehicles on the CREP “a plus,” although the VCI problem “will not be solved with a small solution.”
“This won’t resolve it, but with a caretaker government in place, I think it is a good measure and news for the city,” she added, considering the measure “a good starting point.”
