Campo de Ourique, Estrela and Misericórdia host decentralized public meeting
The city "has an increasing tourist load" and the Parish Councils need "more resources", which will come from the tourist tax, said Carlos Moedas, president of CML. The tax, which was recently doubled, aims to ensure that "tourism is collaborating in the city, paying for the city", and to solve problems such as cleaning and garbage collection in the areas with the most tourist pressure, such as Bairro Alto and Bica.
The revenue, according to the tax applied since September 1st of this year, will be "applied to projects, studies, equipment or infrastructures that have a direct or indirect impact on the promotion and quality of tourism in the city of Lisbon, with a view to sustainable and long-term growth".
Local accommodation, along with some unlicensed terraces, non-compliance with time restrictions and consequent noise at night, were issues raised by residents of the Misericórdia parish. With regard to local accommodation, "we are inspecting the whole of Rua da Misericórdia" this week, said Joana Almeida, Councillor for Urban Planning. At the same time, she explained, we are defining, with the Misericórdia Parish Council, in the Bairro Alto and Bica Plan area, streets "that have already reached the limit in terms of occupation", to allow a "balance of uses" between commercial activities and respect for the "right to rest". As a result of the process, ten establishments have already been closed, said Joana Almeida.
The future Campo de Ourique Metro station was, of course, another of the topics at the meeting. Filipe Anacoreta Correia, vice-president and councillor for Mobility, guaranteed that the CML executive was "completely transparent about our position" on the location of the future station in Jardim da Parada: the process was already underway, and the council chose "not to question the decisive process", a position that "we have always conveyed to residents". We have always had," he added to those present, "every guarantee that the Jardim da Parada's identity will not be compromised".
CML's waste collection service "works very well", assured Carlos Moedas. Through a freephone number: 800 910 211,collection can be scheduled at no cost to residents, avoiding unhealthy situations on the streets. The mayor was responding to a report from a resident of the parish of Estrela, and made a strong appeal to residents not to leave large items of garbage in the street.
The intervention in Praça Afonso do Paço, carried out by the Campo de Ourique Council, with funding from CML, will allow the "redesign" of the entire square, keeping all the parking spaces, "but reorganized on the outskirts", revealed Joana Almeida. "The whole square will be used with green areas, tree planting, a whole new space for people," scheduled to start in October this year and finish in June 2025, said the councillor.
According to the model of these meetings, the final speeches were made by the presidents of the parish councils of Misericórdia, Carla Madeira, Luís Newton, from Estrela, and Hugo Vieira da Silva, from Campo de Ourique.
Watch the full video of the meeting.