The Socialist Party of Lisbon has presented an alternative proposal to the Marquês tunnel and appealed to Câmara President, Carmona Rodrigues, not to continue with his original plan.
The leader of the socialist group, Miguel Coelho, handed over images of his plans to journalists. The plans included projects and models on which renowned architect, Tomás Taveira, has worked on and consist of a link between Rua Artilharia, Rua Joaquim Augusto de Aguiar and Rua Castilho.
Coelho urged Rodrigues to listen to the opposition and continue to display “the good sense” that he showed as vice president of Lisbon Câmara. “Now that he has won in the courts, we hope that he does not proceed with the original planned version of the tunnel. If he does, then he will bear sole responsibility for the consequences,” he said.
Coelho maintains that his alternative plan will ease the flow of traffic and end a project that “would be a disaster for the people of Lisbon” by allowing more cars into the city. Coelho said the tunnel causes “environmental, traffic and parking problems because it will pass within 40 centimetres of the metro tunnel and, in some instances, even less”.
The Socialists maintain their solution is more economically and environmentally friendly. Coelho also underlined the importance of waiting for the results of the Environmental Impact Study, due to be released shortly. The study assesses concerns such as the inclination of the tunnel and its proximity to the metro tunnel.
