The People Animals Nature (PAN) party expressed this Friday, March 29, its unfavorable position regarding the implementation of the Sustainable Mobility Plan of the City of Tavira (PMSCT), recently made available for public consultation by the Municipality.
In a note sent to newsrooms, the party says it shares the position of civic movements that have already shown themselves against the plan, mentioning that, in his understanding, the document “was not the target of true and broad participation, whether through prior public presentation open to debate and/or contestation, or through the making available to the public of significant technical elements (written pieces and/or drawn), which could
legitimize the responsible and detailed analysis of any of the proposals set out in the document».
Furthermore, the PAN emphasizes that the document “lacks an integrated, multidisciplinary and responsible approach, with regard to the articulation between the needs of development and urban mobility, but also taking into account the preservation of the important heritage, environmental and ecological legacy still present in the city of Tavira. Therefore, it is in the manifest public interest to urgently suspend the public consultation process for possible review and/or improvement of the generality of the document».
The party highlights that some of its most significant concerns are related to the proposal to extend the car traffic route towards the Jardim Público (Coreto) and «disqualification of Jardim da Corredoura, through the total removal/replacement of the existing green structure, intersection integral part of the public space through the addition of a one-way car lane, the proposal for a second roundabout at the top that faces Rua 1o de Maio and the addition of large car parking spaces on the
referred location'.
Furthermore, the PAN highlights the «disqualification of Jardim da Alagoa, with a proposed intervention that aims to almost completely waterproof the existing green space and place architectural barriers (flower beds)» and «proposed layout of a structural road for access and automobile flow between the network of local schools and the EN125 through the location of one of the richest collections of fruit trees in the country (carob tree, loquat tree and pomegranate tree), the target of scientific dissemination and local, regional and national importance present at the Tavira Agricultural Experimentation Center (CEAT), future headquarters of the “Sustainable Food” (Mediterranean Diet) Flagship Initiative, where the recently announced Competence Center for the Mediterranean Diet will play a fundamental role in this theme».
For PAN, «most of the proposals presented represent a direct threat to the preservation of the cultural landscape, the quality of public space and the preservation of green/agricultural spaces in the city of Tavira, which compromises not only the quality of life of the local population and visitor, but also local biodiversity", proposing, therefore, that the proposal be reformulated through a study "truly founded, based on comprehensive criteria, which would contribute to the valorization of environmental and ecological spaces essential to the development of the urban agglomeration ».
PAN Algarve also shares the concerns raised by the two local associations “EcotopiaAtiva” and “Citizens for CEAT and Hortas Urbanas de Tavira” regarding the “weaknesses exposed in the public consultation process such as: the lack of broad/timely dissemination of the PMSCT to public consultation (in the means and places designated for this purpose) or the extremely short deadline for submitting contributions».
The party thus emphasizes the need for the Municipality of Tavira to take into account the set of principles and norms that today constitute Democratic Models of Public Participation and the principles for Sustainable Urban Development established by the European Commission, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ) from the UN.
«We are no longer in a time to regress with regard to these practices», he reiterates, committing to actively collaborate with the Tavira Chamber and other interested parties «in the search for responsible solutions, which reconcile urban development with preservation environment and respect for the rights and interests of local communities”.
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