In a statement, Mubi refers that it has already submitted to the Aveiro Chamber a set of measures that it considers urgent, to transform the public space and support walking and cycling, in the post-confinement of COVID-19.

That association considers “maintaining the same road space as “ unacceptable ”,“ preventing anyone who moves on foot from keeping the recommended safety distance, to protect against the risk of contagion ”.

They therefore advocate the elimination of a traffic lane in each direction on Avenida Lourenço Peixinho, for the widening of pavements and the closure of the car traffic on Rua João Mendonça, next to Rossio, two areas in the city centre for which the city council already has requalification projects announced.

“It would be unacceptable, on roads with greater circulation of people and similar conditions, the maintenance of the road space, while those who travel on foot are prevented from keeping the recommended safety distance to protect against the risk of contagion when passing by other pedestrians”, states in the statement.

Mubi proposed to the municipality of Aveiro “a set of priority measures, fast and low cost, to support and encourage the use of active modes of travel during the exit from the confinement.

The definition of health corridors, previously relocating space from the car to active modes, through the closing of streets to motorized traffic or the suppression of traffic routes or parking spaces for the widening of sidewalks and the creation of cycle paths, encourages walking and on a bicycle and ensures the necessary physical distance ”, he defends.

In the city of Aveiro, Mubi says that, since the beginning of the confinement measures, there has been a greater use of the bicycle to travel, “which again shows that when the pressure of the car is reduced, there is a natural greater predisposition of people to adopt the bicycle as a mode of transport ”.

“As observed in the economic crisis of 2008, it is very likely that the use of the bicycle will increase in importance and assume an indispensable role in the mobility of citizens”, he concludes.