The reduction of pedestrian crossings to implement the binary regime between the Pantanal and Carvoeira districts in Florianopolis is of concern to the UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina).

The mayor of the university, Elio Rodak de Cuadros, believes that, given the delay in work, what is being done is a step towards improving urban mobility, but notes that “it has largely favored those who travel by car and pedestrians have been affected.” .

The work of Edu Vieira in Florianopolis dragged on for years. Photo: Leo Munoz/North Dakota.

By reducing pedestrian access, such as lanes and traffic lights, the work is gaining “road maintenance” and the university community, which goes to nearby shops and restaurants, is complaining about the changes, Quadros said.

“There is an atmosphere of dissatisfaction with the work of Edu Vieira, the dynamics of the work, the noise, the excavations, the change in intersections. Reduced crosswalks. We tried to have a dialogue with the mayor’s office to invest in additional signage, lanes, traffic lights, but the mayor’s office claims that this will delay the cars,” he explains.

However, Cuadros emphasizes that there are almost 10,000 people walking around, and it would be unfair to ignore this part of the population.

What the city says

On the other hand, the capital’s mayor’s office says it is working with “urban concepts that value active mobility and public transport, which include recommendations listed as part of the ongoing planning strategies.”

In addition, he emphasizes that he maintains a dialogue with residents, representatives of the local community and the academic community “to listen to suggestions and make possible adjustments after technical analysis.”

The proposal is undergoing final adjustment and should be held in the second half of April. The goal is to turn dual carriageways suffering from excessive vehicle flow into one-way roads.

Regarding the reduction of pedestrian crossings, which was pointed out by the UFSK, the city administration did not show itself before the publication of this text. The space remains open.

Creation of bike lanes and bus lanes

In 2014, the UFSC and the Mayor’s Office signed a letter of intent with guidelines and contractors to allocate a piece of land owned by the university to duplicate via Deputado António Edu Vieira in the Pantanal.

Among these intentions was the construction of bike paths “throughout the length of the works to Saco dos Limoes, as well as the streets around the UFSC and interior streets”.

However, according to Rodak de Cuadros, the exit of companies with which contracts were concluded during the auction led to a delay in work. So “the mayor’s office made a drier version to try and present the head of the work to Ed Vieira,” he says.

Mayor Topazio Neto (PSD) explained in an exclusive interview ND groupthat the implementation of the binary does not end with the release of traffic, because, according to him, other work will be carried out, such as sidewalks, the adaptation of roundabouts and the revision of bus lines.

But for now, according to Rodak de Quadros, it is still unclear how the city government will prioritize the public transport system. “If the bus doesn’t have a particular preference, it will just be another car that gets pulled over.”

For this reason, the Gipedu (Interdisciplinary Research Group in Ecology and Urban Design), which is coordinated by Prof. Francisco António Carneiro Ferreira, argues that the binary system should be a “temporary” measure until the BRT transport corridor is implemented, which should be priority.” .

In addition, the group proposes the creation of safe and networked bike lanes to encourage cycling. In the memo, Guipedou says that “a program to streamline easement sidewalks should be implemented to ensure greater pedestrian safety.”

The Florianopolis City Hall states that the binary prioritizes cycling network evaluation, but at the moment the space is only compatible with the implementation of bike lanes.

“Other goals are to develop on-site intervention through a gradual plan, introducing in an evolutionary way the improvement of pedestrians, places for cyclists and the creation of corridors for public transport. To this end, resources and the best strategies are evaluated to ensure sustainable implementation,” the statement said.

The group’s proposal is to create bike lanes that are physically separate from car lanes, making the route safer for cyclists.

Currently, there are cycle paths on the main roads around the university, for example, on Avenida Desembargador Victor Lima, and cycle routes, for example, on Avenida Lauro Linhares.

Binary data should reduce the average travel time, according to the mayor’s office.

According to studies carried out by the mayor’s office, the introduction of a binary system between the Pantanal and Carvoeira districts should reduce the average travel time in the region by up to 60%.

Mayor Topazio Neto explains that the reduction is because traffic will become smoother.

For this, the idea of ​​the municipal administration is to implement, in addition to the binary, cycle paths both in Edu Vieira and Romualdo de Barros, in order to connect the south of the island with the UFSC region and Beira Mar Norte.

According to Michel Mittmann, Secretary for Mobility and Urban Planning, the main benefit of binary work is the reduction in travel time.

“Apart from the improvements that the mayor mentioned, such as active mobility, there are cases where we achieve a time improvement of up to 90%. Only two cases where we have a very specific situation in which there is little loss in overall system speed.”

Source: Ndmais