If you’ve been through Lisbon’s historic center in recent days— , especially the Chiado area — you’ve surely noticed that the narrow sidewalks and parking spaces have given way to more space for those walking along these streets.
The Lisbon City Council has launched the “Viva a Rua!” project, which promises to change the city’s dynamics by prioritizing pedestrians.
The initiative officially kicked off during European Mobility Week and is based on a clear idea: balancing the use of public space. For example, on Garrett Street, the imbalance was evident: every day, about 20,000 pedestrians and only 4,000 cars pass through this street .
What’s changing for traffic in Chiado?
Unlike previous proposals for radical traffic cuts, the current administration opted for a compromise: car traffic wasn’t banned across the board, but parking was substantially reduced.
The city moved forward with the elimination and reorganization of on-street parking on seven streets in the neighborhood. The space that belonged to cars is now free for the expansion of pedestrian zones, and the streets covered by this transformation are:
- Rua Garrett
- Rua Nova do Almada
- Rua do Carmo
- Calçada do Sacramento
- Ivens Street
- Serpa Pinto Street
- Anchieta Street
A street completely closed to vehicles and the expansion of this model to other areas of the city
Amid these changes, Anchieta Street stands out: it is the only street in this group where vehicle traffic will now be completely banned.
On the remaining six streets, cars continue to circulate, but anyone needing to park will have to use the five underground parking garages in the area, which offer about 1,200 spaces.
If the intention of this measure is to establish a model for mobility in the city, we can say that Chiado will serve as the starting point for a model that the Lisbon City Council plans to expand to other neighborhoods, and the administration has already identified its next targets.
In the short and medium term, the “Viva a Rua!” program will be extended to Rua de Belém and the iconic Rua da Escola Politécnica. The goal remains the same: to remove visual obstacles, widen sidewalks, enhance safety, and make local businesses more attractive to those who live in and visit Lisbon.
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