The idiocy of local government again is to the fore as Lagoa council attempts to justify its decision to tarmac its streets and paint them red.
Thankfully, this childish activity has been limited to the area around the historic market square that has been subject to a long-running ‘intervention’ to make it more pedestrian friendly.
Instead of using traditional materials and colour, the council authorised the widespread use of red painted tarmac for reasons best known to the mayor’s psychotherapist.
This gross planning blunder is made the more saddening as the town hall has reacted by attempting to blame local residents for its own mistake.
This way of countering legitimate views has caused social media apoplexy with locals complaining that its streets are ruined, that tourists will laugh and not come more than once, the entire feeling of the historic square has been rubbished and, with the local council elections coming up this autumn, the current administration seems not to want to carry on in power.
Incredibly, the council is defending its choice of bright red and says the city will be a better place when all the street furniture and plants are in place, hopefully by the weekend.
At a public consultation meeting three years ago, around 50 members of the public were shown the outline plans and, the council says, the street areas were coloured in red.
One local at the meeting said this colour on the plan was never discussed, it looked like the colour was just to delineate the area and no one was told this was to be the actual colour of the surface, “we have been badly misled” said João Fernandes, “and the council never explained that this bright colour would be used on the street surface. What about a traditional area in calçada – now that would be something to be proud of.”
Over in Olhão the council is playing the same game of ‘guess the material’ with its March 2017 redesign for the historic city centre, (redrafted after a major campaign was launched to preserved the unique calçada designs that are a reference point for the city,) deliberately lacking in detail with threatened streets to be redone in ‘local stone’ which could be the original calçada, new calçada or the feared, machine-cut, pedra escarpão.
While councils continue to treat their ratepayers as the enemy, to be misled, misinformed and to have surprises sprung on them, petitions and ill-feeling will continue - Lagoa being just the latest example.
Lagoa's Social Democratic Party commented, succinctly, that the new works "are a disgrace."
