The «lack of dialogue capacity by the City Council» was contested this Saturday by about a hundred people who gathered in Tavira to debate the new bridge over the River Gilão, in an initiative of the Tavira Semper Civic Movement.
In a session that the organizers consider "very attended", there were many voices, including technicians from various specialties, who expressed "their concern about the disastrous impact of the ongoing project and demanded more dialogue from the City Council executive of Tavira».
Participants in this action criticized the lack of a "mobility plan" and stated that they did not understand how to take "cars to areas where there are no parking spaces". “We are starting at the end. First we build the bridge and then you can see it later», lamented one of those present.
One of the most highlighted aspects was the lack of an environmental impact study, which is optional in cases like this.
However, the Tavira Semper movement considers that the Chamber should have gone ahead with an environmental impact study, “given the size of the project, but chose not to do it”.
If it had done so, argues the civic movement, the process would have been more transparent, because "there would have been information available that would allow the population to express themselves knowledgeably about such important issues as the location, the size of the project, the consequences for the river and for the Jardim area, the need to protect the urban landscape and the historical heritage».
Participants at the meeting also challenged the "lack of capacity for dialogue" of those responsible for the Chamber of Tavira, who had never heard "the voices that over the years have challenged the project, including numerous specialized technicians, nor have they responded to the doubts often raised».
"This is not democracy," it was heard.
The Tavira Semper movement once again appeals for the Municipality to “initiate a process of broad discussion that will lead to the suspension of ongoing work and its clear need for revision, bearing in mind that we are talking about a 10 meter wide bridge, without worries aesthetic and environmental, with the introduction of more cars in the historic center and with the total absence of a development strategy for downtown Tavira».
In statements to the Sul Informação, the mayor of Tavira had considered that there was no reason to contest the new bridge over the Gilão river, in the city's downtown. It will be a bridge that will give primacy to pedestrian and cycling traffic and that will “dilute in the landscape”, guaranteed Ana Paula Martins.
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