The Socialist Party PS-M, has criticized the measure announced by the Regional Government to charge for parking on Pico do Areeiro, and argued that there should be an exemption regime for Madeirans.
“It is essential to create an exception regime for Madeirans, in parking and access to pedestrian routes, otherwise we will be creating a financial ‘apartheid,’ that is, depriving people of access to certain areas for financial reasons. It should be noted that we live in a region that has the highest at-risk-of-poverty rate in the country and a purchasing power 13% below the national average,” said Victor Freitas.
The socialist deputy also recalled that, since 2021, the PS has presented proposals in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira for the creation of a legal regime for pedestrian routes and the management of tourist flows on these routes, which “have been systematically rejected by the PSD and the CDS” and regrets that “it has been necessary for them to reach a limit where they are forced to take measures.”
The JPP also has expressed itself “frontally against” the payment of parking for residents in Pico do Areeiro, a position taken this Wednesday by the vice-president of the parliamentary group, Patrícia Spínola, after the announcement by the Regional Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Environment, Rafaela Fernandes, that parking will be paid on the second highest peak in Madeira.
In a statement, the party led by Élvio Sousa “subscribes to some of the government measures to mitigate the problems resulting from the ‘enormous tourist pressure’ in Pico do Areeiro and other points of regional tourist interest, namely limits to restrict and discipline car access, control of entry on routes to ensure the natural state, improvement of health and rubbish collection issues, But all this must be done thoughtfully and without harming the people of Madeira and Porto Santo”.
“While tourism record enchants the Regional Government they continually underestimate the impacts of this massification, contradicting the opinion of hoteliers and stating that this was a good problem, have failed to take the necessary measures, and is now desperately trying to lock the stable door now the horse has bolted,” contextualises Patrícia Spínola: “The region of the country with the highest house prices and with the highest inflation in the country, it pushes residents to the mountains, and when they get there they are taxed for this governmental bewilderment, for this fever in the search for extraordinary revenues that burden and already strapped for cash society.”
At this juncture, the JPP has no reservations about what should be done: “We defend the free visits to Pico do Areeiro by Madeirans, like Cabo Girão, and we cannot contain our indignation for yet another decision that harms Madeirans in accessing what has always been theirs,” stresses the parliamentary leader.
Patrícia Spínola challenges Miguel Albuquerque and the Regional Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry to clarify some opaque issues in this matter. “First of all, who owns the land where the paid car parks are built? What is the model and criteria that determined the concession/exploitation/direct adjustment? On what comparative basis did they arrive at four euros per hour? And, finally, where and with what criteria will the four million euros per year of expected revenue be applied?”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
