Lisbon is expected to grow to South

Lisbon does not work only in the municipality of Lisbon, but is becoming
increasingly a body or a system with a larger dimension to the Lisbon and
Tagus Valley, with multiple cores, multiple cities, multiple heads and limbs,
closely interconnected, which trade continuously (daily) human resources,
money, goods, ideas, energy and skills on the roads, railways, electricity
networks and electronic, internet, television and mobile phones.
This megasistema city that is the Greater Lisbon has its own identity, its
own dynamic and should have a centralized coordination. It is an urban
system that competes with others in the world, but with them also has
collaborative relationships, tourism, exchange of goods, financing, exchange
of ideas and energy by turning over the internet, telephones, motorways,
ports, airport and train.
A Greater Lisbon, growing needs of living space to develop or atrophy and
die. Until today, has grown to the north and has been congested north
bounded by the river to the east and the sea and the mountains to the
west / north. It is time to grow to the extensive lands to the south, where
there are no limits of space and is easy to construct the right-flat spaces. To
grow competitive with other regions, Greater Lisbon has to grow on a global
Korea in all its dimensions. There is no getting around.
It's not just decide that the airport is placed in a "desert" to the south and
now we go to a railway bridge just direct Montijo so we can get to the airport
occasionally when going on international travel.
A huge investment in a bridge can not be only for this, but should take
account of the expansion strategy of the city to the south with both sides
seeking to connect people, companies and ideas from both sides. Lisbon is
getting crowded and stunted the North and should be extended to South
The Montijo already has a bridge and now it is necessary to bridge not only
train, but especially where there is no road to leave the sprawling city of
Lisbon to the South
Overflows the Setubal peninsula across the Chelas-Barreiro, in a non-
congested, and to the side of the Alentejo, through the existing bridge.
I just do not understand who this is America and just tends to look at the
airport in the South, but this is not the primary purpose of a point over the
Tagus. Most daily users will be residents of the city of Greater Lisbon in their
movements and exchanges of ideas, goods and services or to North and
South is to this point lack a link from Lisbon to Barreiro, Moita axis-Palmela -
Setubal.
Moreover, the bridges must be distant from each other, to be alternatives.
Bridges together, are bridges that are crowding together or are underused.
If April 25 is full and the Vasco da Gama stopped, I must have another
alternative site is not crowded by two bridges, both the South and the
North. Obviously that a tunnel would also Algés Trafaria very personal way
to the shaft-Almada Seixal-Azeitão.
Another issue is to think it should be a bridge or a tunnel. In this issue,
knowing that in future the Tagus should have many more bridges to connect
the Great Lisbon, this only makes sense if they are all in the tunnel, and we
could start with this (although this may no longer be possible at this stage),
because the view of the Tagus estuary is one of great and universal value
that should not be degraded by several bridges which will be built over the
next centuries.
Finally, the question concerning the increase of cars in downtown Lisbon, is
a red herring. More than 75% of vehicles arriving daily to the center of
Lisbon come from America, from east or west (I understood that the figures
quoted by LNEC in RTP), to the many existing roads and highways without
tolls. The few vehicles coming from the south hard and pay heavy tolls daily.

To limit the number of cars in Lisbon, there is only one thing to do: putting
more charges on access to the north, west and east, have not.
The South just come and they have tolls. What you can not say is "we take
the North all our cars for free to the center of Lisbon, and from the South to
go by boat or train, or to pay tolls only two bridges. More road bridges in the
South is not, because of the environment. "
A final word to the imperative of the new bridge is able and slot enough to
rail freight, so it could connect the cluster port of Lisbon, Setubal and Sines
by rail between you and Platform Poceirão concentrating there loads and
gaining critical mass for the formation of block trains of goods daily to
Spain, allowing the extension of the hinterland of the Portuguese ports of
the South, to put them on an equal footing with the major ports of the
Iberian Peninsula.

Vitor Caldeirinha
Specialist Transport