Lisbon, July 8, 2025 (Lusa) - A study on the safety of approximately 50 kilometres of Lisbon’s cycle network, promoted by the ACP, indicates that 22.09% (11 kilometres) are at high or extreme risk.
The same study indicates that 53.53% are at medium risk and 24.38% at low risk.
The study “Risk assessment of cycle paths in Lisbon”, presented in Lisbon by the Automobile Club of Portugal (ACP) on Tuesday, analysed the safety of the city’s cycle paths, identified the main risk factors and proposed recommendations to improve cyclist safety given the increase in the number of accidents and deaths since 2019.
Analysing 51.56 kilometres of cycle paths in Lisbon, the study, carried out using the CycleRAP method, which assesses the safety of cycling infrastructure by anticipating collision risks, found that “7.18% of the route has extreme risk and 14.91% has a high risk”.
The data obtained shows that the risk of collision between cyclists is low in 95.64% of the network, and interactions between cyclists and pedestrians are low in 79.98%.
Collisions between vehicles and bicycles represent the biggest problem: the paths present a reduced risk of 49.83%, a medium risk of 29.81%, a high risk of 13.24% and an extreme risk of 7.13%.
The data collected highlights that collisions between vehicles and bicycles “represent the greatest concern in terms of safety, with high and extreme risks concentrated in areas with inadequate segregation and high traffic volumes”.
On Rua Castilho, a road classified as extreme and high risk, the segment has “0.6 kilometres with 100% [risk] and cycle lanes on the road, have no physical barriers and are completely exposed to motor traffic”.
Thus, after the team implemented the proposed safety measures, simulations revealed a reduction in risk for “all types of collisions” and also that “the extreme risk sections were eliminated, becoming predominantly medium and low risk areas”.
The most comprehensive recommendation involves “relocating the cycle lane to the opposite side of the street, ensuring total physical segregation”, separating cyclists from vehicles and minimising interactions with pedestrians.
Moving the cycle lane to the left results in a “100% increase in the safety of collisions between vehicles and bicycles” and significantly expands the low-risk zones for other types of accidents, constituting a fundamental transformation in terms of safety.
Avenida Almirante Reis, also known as the “cycle lane of discord”, with Carlos Moedas promising in his local election campaign that the city would remove it, and after voters elected him mayor, he revised the plan, enabling the street to undergo a “dramatic transformation”, with low-risk areas now representing “more than 80% of the corridor and the complete removal of extreme risk segments”.
The new urban regeneration project introduces “continuous and segregated cycle lanes, wider pavements, better lighting and traffic calming measures”.
Simulated scores for a regeneration project indicate an overall low risk of 83.51%, with all segments showing neither high nor extreme risk. “Physical segregation, traffic calming, improved intersections and pavements/lighting are key” for that road, the study says.
As for Avenida de Berna, the cycle path has also generated extensive discussion among residents and users, and the diagnosis revealed “a critical corridor connecting the main and residential areas” that includes a pair of one-way cycle paths along 1.07 kilometres.
The proposed alternative, which would integrate buses and cycle lanes, includes “raised cycle lanes with kerbs, bus stops with diversions, improved lighting and protected intersections”.
This scenario resulted in “84.95% low risk overall, with total elimination of high and extreme risk segments for all types of accidents”, and analysts classified it as low risk. In comparison, they classified 15.05% as medium risk.
Officials completely eliminated extreme and high risk areas, a move that covers collisions between vehicles and bicycles, conflicts between bicycles, interactions between bicycles and pedestrians, and single bicycle accidents; all of these factors now hold a 100% low risk rating.
According to the study, in the city centre, the narrow roads and mixed traffic conditions “require effective strategies to enhance bicycle circulation”. At the same time, in the riverside area, frequent interactions with pedestrians “demand careful infrastructure planning to maximise smooth interactions”.
The simulation tool revealed that targeted interventions can “reduce overall risk levels by up to 68%, providing a strong evidence base for prioritising future infrastructure investments”.
The combined use of the CycleRAP methodology and Lane Patrol simulation tools (which assess cycling infrastructure) offers a scalable and replicable approach to improving cyclist safety in urban environments, according to the study.
The methodology can be applied to other corridors in Lisbon or replicated in cities such as Porto or Coimbra to improve the user experience, given that reducing risk “contributes to safer and more comfortable cycling, encouraging greater adoption of sustainable mobility options”.
RCP/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
