Lisbon Bars Cars From Driving Through City Center
The Portuguese capital will ban through-traffic in the heart of downtown. For now, the plan is temporary.
Drivers won’t be able to travel through Lisbon’s city center for at least the next three months.
Photographer: Viola Lopes/picture alliance via Getty Images
This month, Lisbon will become the latest European city to bar through-traffic from its city center.
The plan, to be introduced for a three-month trial period on April 26, will see cars barred from driving through (but not from driving to) the heart of Lisbon’s downtown. A larger zone beyond this will bar access to most vehicles over 3.5 metric tons — including tourist buses but excluding all forms of public transit — between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. After the zones’ introduction, cars trying to cross town will instead be directed to a semi-circular ring of major roads just beyond Lisbon’s downtown, which will act as a de facto beltway. While the plan will not be a complete car ban, it could significantly reduce traffic through the Portuguese capital’s historic heart.