A system for the automatic counting of the entries and exits on each beach, in real time, is being installed on the beaches of the municipality of Lagoa. This measure will allow interested parties to know, before going to the beach, the level of capacity of each beach “and make a more informed choice” about where they would like to visit. The new system and its connection with initiatives from other entities were verified during a visit by the Secretary of State for Fisheries and regional coordinator for the fight against COVID-19 in the Algarve, José Apolinário at the end of last week.
The Mayor of Lagoa, Luís Encarnação, councillors Jorge Pardal and Mário Guerreiro, the president of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), Pedro Coelho, the commander of the Port of Portimão Rodrigo Gonzalez dos Paços, the 2nd district commander of Protection Civil, Abel Gomes and the Commander of the Lagoa Volunteer Firefighters, Vítor Rio, were some of the figures of the region delegation that confirmed on the spot that this system was working as expected on the beaches of the Algarvian municipality.
The information collected by the sensors installed by the municipality is automatically treated in the context of a "smart city" model, and made available to the public on municipal communication channels – this includes their website, Facebook profile - but also by other entities, such as in the mobile application "Info Praia", set up by the APA for smartphones or tablets, which can be downloaded for free through Google Play and the App Store.
The information is presented in a similar way to traffic lights. “In this case, the red traffic light does not prohibit entry, but warns that the level of occupation of that beach is above two thirds of its maximum capacity. The yellow traffic light indicates that the beach capacity has exceeded one third of the expected capacity, but has not yet exceeded two thirds of that capacity.
The green indicates that the beach is not very crowded, that is, it has not yet exhausted one third of its capacity”, explains a Council source. “With the best compliance with the rules of safety and distance, it will be possible to continue to enjoy the best that summer and the magnificent beaches of our municipality have to offer, without forgetting that we now have new demands on user safety” added Luís Encarnação, Mayor of Lagoa.
