Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas has proposed renaming of Parque Tejo, Parque Papa Francisco
Socialists on Lisbon City Council have supported the proposal by social democrat mayor Carlos Moedas to name Parque Tejo after Pope Francis, but they warn against that being it. In other words, they are seeking assurances that the park will be properly maintained.
Located on land in the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures, totalling around 100 hectares, Parque Tejo was created on top of the Beirolas landfill site, to provide one of the stages for World Youth Day, two years ago, which Pope Francis attended, and which attracted around 1.5 million people to Lisbon.
It was described at the time as “a green park”, but that is essentially all it was: green. There were no trees – thus no shade. It is a green space, that has since become to all intents and purposes “a wasteland”.
Opposition councillors in pushing for assurances show that they suspect Mayor Moedas is ‘jumping on the bandwagon of the Pope’s death’ more than coming up with a serious proposal.
According municipal regulations, for example, they cite that “the attribution of a place name should only take place five years after the death of the personality”, albeit this guideline “may, on a very exceptional and duly substantiated basis, not be respected”.
Councillors from Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) stress that what needs to be properly discussed is the transformation of the ‘green park’ into a “real green park”.
“This is a large space with no tree cover”. It is necessary to bring “not only trees but also equipment, leisure areas, and toilets” to the area, said one.
Since each town council has autonomy to decide on its territory, Loures council, chaired by Ricardo Leão (PS), plans to formalise the name of Parque Papa Francisco at its meeting at the end of the month.
“Loures City Council has always shown, in all its references to the park, that this would be the name. Even before WYD took place, it referred to the park as Pope Francis Park”, a source from Ricardo Leão’s office told Lusa, adding that proof of this is the two billboards in the area advertising the “Future Pope Francis Park”.
Connecting the two municipalities in Parque Tejo is a cycle-pedestrian bridge over the River Trancão, which was also built as part of the WYD, and which has also suffered its ‘controversies’ (again due to Carlos Moedas, proposing to name it after Cardinal Dom Manuel Clemente, one of the Church leaders whose tenure as Patriarch of Lisbon came under intense scrutiny during the inquiry into systemic child abuse by Catholic priests).
Thousands signed a petition against Moedas’ choice, and in the end it was the cardinal himself who refused the honour because he didn’t want “the attribution to be a cause of division, or for anyone to feel offended”.
After that, there were several proposals to name the bridge, including the Lisbon Animal Welfare Ombudsman suggesting Ponte Noé and the PAN municipal group proposing the name of São Francisco de Assis. The final idea was for a public consultation process between Lisbon and Loures, to choose a name, but after more than a year, the bridge is still waiting.
Source material: LUSA
