Street Rent-a-Car Restriction Proposal

In Search of Hope – by Sam Gannon

Seconded to the parish of Tililngdon, the Reverend Dolores has been presented with a challenge.

She’s living in an antiquated house and she’s cold. Furthermore, her new Bishop, Bishop Alice does not approve of ‘showgirls in dog collars.’

Determined to prove the Bishop wrong, she sets about warming her house – who cares if it smells of horse! There is the crochet club, jumble sale, and soup run to organise. And this year, the church bells will ring, no matter what threats are made. Even more so, the newly formed choir will spread a little joy this Christmas, even though they can’t sing – yet! And with a little help from Phil, her bassist, this year could be full of magic.

However, she has a fight on her hands as the townies out in Knob Hill – she must stop calling it that, are trying to stop her from ringing her bells. When Krystal with a K decides to do some volunteer work, Dolores sets out to see just how committed she really is.

Up to her ears in granny squares and squawking choristers, Dolores is revving up for Christmas, yet a deeper darker secret is beginning to emerge!

A secret that could blow the whole parish apart and put Dolores in danger.

(available from Amazon)

The PS candidacy for the Funchal City Council states that resolving the current traffic problems in the city centre is one of its top priorities. Among the measures to be implemented is the creation of more car parks on the periphery of the centre, encourage the use of public transport, and restrict the circulation of rent-a-car vehicles on some streets and at certain times.

At a press conference this morning in Praça do Município, the socialists recalled the promise of the current city council executive to build a car park with 1,500 spaces in the centre of Funchal. Something they consider a completely absurd idea. Rui Caetano pointed out the current traffic chaos, stating that there is a need to implement measures to reverse this situation.

“We have all heard – and the City Council itself also says so – that there are too many rent-a-car cars circulating in the arteries of our city. What we are going to do is create restrictive measures for the circulation of these vehicles in some streets and car parks at certain times, mainly rush hour. He further stressed that this is not an embargo against tourists, it’s to ensure that there is a balance and that the average Madeiran is not penalised for living and working in the city centre.”

In addition, the socialist candidate wants to invest in peripheral carparks in strategic areas of the city, complemented with an excellent public transport system. This would be a way to make it possible for both Madeirans and tourists to move around without congesting the city centre. Rui Caetano explained that a study will be carried out on the most strategic areas for the implementation of this solution, ensuring that there are places where it is possible to build these parks and that, in the case of existing ones, it is possible to resize them.

As for the restriction on the circulation of rent-a-car cars, it would be organised with rent-a-car companies, hotels and operators to get information to tourists, also promoting the finding of solutions to improve mobility in the city, to create a balance between tourists and Funchal residents.

Concluding, he took a swipe at the PSD/CDS city council for “being quick to pocket the 52 million euros in tax it collected in 2024, but “despite this, could not solve the city’s transport problems.”

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com

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