In a move aimed at enhancing pedestrian safety, the Municipality of Porto will reverse the traffic direction on Rua de S. João starting Tuesday, April 8, as stated in a communiqué issued by the Porto City Council today.
The city council clarified that vehicular access will be channeled through Rua de Mouzinho da Silveira in an ascending direction, requiring a right turn onto Rua do Infante D. Henrique upon exit in the Ribeira area.
Practically speaking, vehicles will need to follow a circular route, effectively eliminating through traffic, which has been associated with excessive speeds.
“This alteration, complemented by the installation of urban furniture including planters and deterrents, aims to limit access in this area to vehicles with genuine necessity and to curb illegal parking,” the Porto City Council stated.
The initiative aims to enhance pedestrian safety on this vital access route to the city’s core by reducing through traffic, which undermines the modern public space concept.
The Porto Municipality will monitor driver behavior following the implementation of these new measures, potentially leading to the creation of a new Restricted Vehicle Access Zone in the foreseeable future.
According to the city council, the decision follows a review of improvement suggestions submitted by citizens after pedestrianization works in October.
This intervention is part of the Rede 20, a network of priority routes for pedestrians, bicycles, and scooters covering about 30 kilometers of streets, with some enforcing a maximum vehicle speed of 20 kilometers per hour.
In December, Pedro Baganha, the Porto City Council’s Urbanism Councilor, had informed Lusa that the area would see the installation of barriers to restrict vehicular movement “in the coming months.”
Pedro Baganha stated on December 20 to Lusa that barriers, essentially urban furniture, would restrict parking to loading and unloading only.
He also assured that the final configuration of the street would eliminate illegal parking, which had been an issue following the city’s pedestrianization efforts.
On October 22, the Porto City Council announced that Rua de São João had been “opened to pedestrians” following the completion of works ahead of schedule by the Public Space Office of the council.
The street and parking levels were raised to match the sidewalks through lifting and re-laying granite cobblestones, according to the city council.
The investment for these improvements was approximately 82,000 euros.
