"In order to promote greater traffic flow, pedestrian safety and accessibility to public transport, the circulation of tricycles and light quadricycles will be restricted on nine roads in the city's downtown area", can be read in information sent to Lusa.

The news of the measure was initially released by the newspaper Público and includes "Largo dos Loios, the streets of Trindade Coelho, Mouzinho da Silveira, Ribeira Negra, Infante D. Henrique, Fernandes Tomás and Formosa, as well as Praça de Almeida Garrett and the Ribeira Tunnel", in the center of Porto.

The criteria for implementation on these roads considers "streets where traffic speeds are reduced and accident rates are higher".

The ban comes into effect next Monday, according to the city hall led by independent Rui Moreira.

"The objective is to preserve the efficiency of urban mobility, ensuring compatibility between tourism, the quality of life of the city's residents and workers and the operationality of public transport and emergency services," he points out.

For the Porto City Council, the measure "does not have a significant impact on economic activities, since the restriction will be localised and does not prevent the provision of occasional tourist services requested by tourist entertainment operators".

"It is therefore believed that this strategy will contribute to improving urban mobility, reducing pressure on public spaces and promoting a safer and more sustainable environment", he says, being "aligned with good traffic management practices adopted in reference cities".

Porto City Council "recognises that the growth of tourist activity and the diversification of transport modes have posed challenges to the management of public space, requiring effective solutions to ensure a sustainable balance".

The city government reiterates that "the absence of specific regulations for the circulation of TVDE vehicles, loading and unloading operations and the proliferation of tourist transport has intensified the negative impacts, worsening the saturation of the roads and damaging the urban experience".

The Porto City Hall even admits that "the circulation of vehicles that are not suited to the functional characteristics of certain road axes has compromised the objectives defined in the Municipal Master Plan, especially with regard to traffic fluidity, road safety and environmental quality".

"The current legal framework allows the implementation of regulations that condition, temporarily or permanently, the transit of certain categories of vehicles, as long as the principles of reasonableness, proportionality and equality are respected", he points out.

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