Regional Government Responsible for Pedestrian Safety

The PS Parliamentary Group has accused the Regional Government of negligence in failing to implement various measures to ensure safety on pedestrian routes, stressing that sole responsibility for situations of risk cannot be attributed to those using the routes.

Reacting to the alert issued today by the Public Security Police, published by DIÁRIO, about the use of pedestrian routes that often results in avoidable accidents, the socialists expressed their understanding of the difficult position of the emergency services, who, in the end and due to the negligence of others, are called to carry out rescue operations, risking their own lives to save others.

However, Deputy Sílvia Silva warns that security cannot be a responsibility exclusive to the users of the routes, when “the Regional Government is negligent and does not comply with its obligations to minimise risks.”

He points out that proof of this is the failure to follow even the most basic measures, like publishing conduct and safety standards to be approved by regional ordinance, as outlined in the Legal Regime of Pedestrian Routes of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, which should have been in place since 2022.

“The same goes for fires and floods. When the Government neglects spatial planning, as it has failed, those who suffer are the population and also members of the emergency services, forced to intervene and take risks to save what should not need to be saved.”

A socialist deputy points out that ensuring safety on pedestrian routes has long been a priority for the PS, yet the Regional Government and its supporting majority have ignored it, rejecting proposals brought forward in the Madeira Parliament.

Silvia Silva points out that the PS has put forward a long list of proposals aimed at improving safety on walking routes, but laments that the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN), which manages the recommended trails in Madeira, has been neglecting them. This, she notes, is happening even after complaints and incidents that aren’t the fault of the users but of the promoters.

The new proposals include creating clear procedures, monitoring and minimising risks, placing distance markers from the start of routes to help with orientation, and setting up a platform for users and tourism professionals to report incidents, breakages, and risky situations that either require a maintainence team or the route to be closed for more extensive risk assessments and/or repair work.  They also involve developing general safety plans approved by the Regional Civil Protection  Agency in collaboration with municipal authorities and other security forces, ensuring efficient and inclusive information sharing, and using collected fees to maintain and repair equipment like pavements, paths, and viewpoints, which are visibly deteriorating and increasing accident risks. According to Sílvia Silva, all of this has been ignored by the Executive.  

“Due to the Regional Government’s inaction in addressing and reducing risks, the Socialist Party believes that sole responsibility for the frequent accidents involving pedestrian routes should not be placed on the users. They argue that pressure on the Executive to do its part shouldn’t come only from the opposition but also from other entities that ultimately share responsibility and face risks which could and should be avoided through preventive measures still waiting to be implemented,” she adds.

The deputy points out that the only proposal from the PS that the Regional Government eventually adopted—poorly and after years of resistance—was setting limits on pedestrian route capacity and implementing controls. This led to a controversial measure, still in place, that penalises Madeirans under the guise of security, a policy that residents never questioned, as acknowledged by the IFCN President.

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com

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