“The section between Colégio do Rosário and Avenida do Dr. Antunes Guimarães is being intervened,” stated an official source from Metro do Porto.
On October 3, Metro do Porto decided to undertake a “temporary technical halt” of the second phase of the metrobus construction, which began on September 22.
“The Executive Commission of Metro do Porto informs that a consensus solution was reached for a temporary technical halt of the phase II works of the BRT/MetroBus project, during which only strictly necessary services for safety and site supervision of fencing works will be ensured,” the company stated in a communiqué.
According to Metro, “this consensus, which ensures the defense of public interest, will also allow for a careful analysis of the work and its developments, always safeguarding respect for the law, including existing commitments, in harmony with the well-being of citizens.”
The second phase of the metrobus works commenced on September 22, on the dedicated bus corridor of Avenida da Boavista, between Rua Jorge Reinel (near Colégio do Rosário) and Avenida do Dr. Antunes Guimarães. It faced opposition from both candidates for the presidency of the Porto City Council and the general public, particularly regarding the removal of trees.
At the time of the project’s initiation, the company was led by Tiago Braga, who has since been replaced by Emídio Gomes, former rector of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro.
On the day the works began, the Municipal Assembly of Porto expressed its “profound indignation” over what it deemed an “unacceptable disrespect” by Metro’s administration for advancing the second phase of the metrobus without attending to the requests made by political forces.
After receiving no response from Metro do Porto and seeing the second phase of the metrobus works progress, all elected deputies approved a motion to express the elected officials’ “indignation” to the company’s board and regretted the timing of the works’ advance.
On September 30, Metro do Porto assured, in a letter to the president of AM, that the second phase of the metrobus works only advanced with authorization from the Municipal Chamber.
“The initiation of work on the ground followed the proper authorization process by competent municipal services, having been obtained in accordance” with a municipal notice “in clear compliance with legal requirements and with the evident knowledge and approval of the Porto Municipal Chamber,” the letter sent to Sebastião Feyo de Azevedo stated.
On the same day, the then-president of the Chamber, Rui Moreira, stressed that granting a license for metrobus works “is not a political act, it is a practical act,” and thus there could be no “drawer veto.”
“The only thing the Chamber issued, and could not fail to do, is a license for the occupation of public space,” he told journalists.
The project prompted the PSD/CDS-PP/IL candidacy, led by Pedro Duarte, who was elected president of the Porto Chamber, to file for an injunction to halt it, arising “from a place of indignation with the beginning of the works and tree destruction that marked the day on Avenida da Boavista.”
When questioned about Metro do Porto’s president Emídio Gomes being his supporter and even participating in a march promoted by his candidacy specifically against the tree felling and in favor of maintaining the cycle path near Parque da Cidade, Pedro Duarte expressed hope that “he helps the city.”
In May, Pedro Duarte advocated, in a petition, the development of a differently aligned route west of Avenida da Boavista, maintaining the cycle path and trees, an alternative already requested by the Porto Chamber in April, and which Metro do Porto assures is already being designed, sparing the felling of 86 trees but potentially impacting the announced travel time.
The metrobus is expected to connect Casa da Música to Praça do Império in 12 minutes and to Anémona in 17, with the service vehicles being hydrogen buses.
The vehicles have already arrived, and the first phase of the work is completed, but the service is not yet operational, with Avenida da Boavista’s channel currently being used by users of soft mobility modes, such as bicycles and scooters.
