In a note published on its website, Porto City Hall clarifies that under the new rules for the traffic-controlled zones, access for residents was "made more flexible" and the "hourly window" for loading and unloading was "extended".
"Drivers who need access to the interior of these zones have until the 15th [of January] to make the mandatory registration on the ZAACPorto platform," says the municipality, which is promoting a webinar on 10 January to clarify questions.

The delimitation of the Zones of Conditional Automobile Access (ZAAC) appeared in 2018 with the purpose of "accommodating, in conditions of comfort and safety, the large flows and concentration of people in the areas of greatest demand in the city", such as the historic centre and the most commercial and tourist streets.

Of the changes introduced to the regulation of these zones, the municipality highlights the possibility of residents or merchants without parking being able to access these zones at any time of the day, for periods of 30 minutes.

The entry hours for loading and unloading, as well as logistics operators have been extended, and these services now get up to 30 minutes of free stay between 00:00 to 11:00 and 21:00 to 24:00.

"If the time spent inside the ZAACs exceeds the stipulated period, 7.50 euros will be charged as a penalty, but the municipality's intention is that no charge will be levied," the note notes.

The implemented changes result from a participative process that counted with the contribution of residents, merchants and the Union of Parishes of the historic centre of Porto.

The ZAACPorto platform was developed with the aim of ensuring speed in the process of authorizing access to restricted areas, and is accessible via the website or application.

As for the webinar, which will take place on Monday, 10 January, between 14:00 and 14:30, those interested can register through a link available on the Porto City Hall website.