The second phase of Passeio das Dunas and the requalification of Alameda da Praia da Marina were inaugurated this Thursday, May 13, on Loulé Municipality Day.
Environmental sustainability, respect for nature, harmony in the public space and bet on smooth and pedestrian mobility are some of the guidelines that guided these two works.
On the day that Quarteira marked the 22nd anniversary of becoming a city – the same date that Loulé celebrated its municipal holiday this year – the municipality says that “it wanted to put on the festivities' agenda two outstanding works in the change that has been made. over the last few years in the image of the important urban center of Quarteira/Vilamoura».
During the morning, the Secretary of State for Decentralization and Local Administration Jorge Botelho accompanied the municipal and parish executives «on a visit to the spaces that materialize this profound regeneration carried out in the image of one of the most important tourist territories in the country».
Alameda da Praia da Marina is, for the Loulé Council, «one of the examples of the global strategy for the redevelopment of downtown Vilamoura, with a set of actions carried out with the objective of benefiting the quality of the urban environment, providing significant improvements in the quality of life of those who live and work here, but also in the millions of tourists who choose this place as their holiday destination».
Taking advantage of the excellence of its natural conditions, hotels, leisure/entertainment spaces, «the intervention carried out in this Alameda allowed to improve the conditions of pedestrian and cycling mobility».
In an investment of more than 920 thousand euros, with this requalification, the Câmara de Loulé also wanted to harmonize and enhance the image of the public space, as well as giving priority to comfort through the adoption and adaptation of urban furniture elements.
Green areas were created, with leisure and recreation areas, with species that respect the Mediterranean landscape and help to create a mild and pleasant climate.
A few meters away, in the area that used to be the Fishermen's Quarter, Passeio das Dunas now has an impressive presence in this seafront setting.
“Here there was a neighborhood, a real social wound, where people in extreme poverty lived for many years. This neighborhood functioned as a buffer zone between Vilamoura – the rich part – and Quarteira. It was a zone of separation that bothered our conscience and shamed us all», underlined the mayor of Loulé Vítor Aleixo.
This 2nd phase, with a value of 2,8 million euros, allowed the extension to the Vilamoura Marina, following the same philosophy of renaturalizing the space. As happened in the first part of the Walk, here too, «environmental requalification was promoted through the restoration of the dune structure, through the use of durable materials, preferably local, and through the use of alternative energies for the lighting system».
The global investment of Passeio das Dunas will be completed with the completion of the 3rd phase, which will include the construction of the future Market, whose project is already completed, and the rehabilitation of Largo das Cortes Reais.
On this festive day for the city, the mayor of Loulé mentioned some of the interventions carried out or in progress in Quarteira, which are added to these two public investments inaugurated: Rua dos Pinheirinhos, in the connection between Quarteira and Vilamoura, through Quinta do Romão (800 thousand euros), the BMX track (635 thousand euros), the garden in front of the GNR facilities (600 thousand euros), the commitment to safety, with the new GNR building (1 million euros) and support given to the Maritime Authority and, in the area of education, the EB2,3 D. Dinis School (6,2 million euros), to be inaugurated shortly.
For Secretary of State Jorge Botelho, the work carried out by the Municipality of Loulé demonstrates the «ambition to invest and want to make the municipality grow, give it more quality of life and put this area on the map even more».
Regarding the Passeio das Dunas, he said that it was a “work of regime” that managed to “solve a social problem on this seafront and create a new centrality with an enormous quality for the tourist area”.
Telmo Pinto, president of the Parish Council of Quarteira, highlighted the “importance of urban rehabilitation of public space in everyone's life, always with the objective of returning these spaces to the people; aspects such as mobility and the environment must always be present, and we certainly cannot forget its beauty and harmony».
With regard to rehabilitation, the official mentioned some of the interventions that have been carried out in the city, such as the planning of parking on Avenida de Ceuta, the creation of Avenida Papa Francisco and the extension of Avenida Francisco Sá Carneiro to Fonte Santa.
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