The new Vale das Flores Park was inaugurated on January 13th, with the presence of the President of the City Council (CM) of Coimbra and the members of the Board of Directors of Metro Mondego (MM). The event was also attended by Architect Laura Roldão, author of the project, who gave a brief presentation of the intervention carried out there.
This intervention, in an area of approximately 17,200 m2, consisted of the creation of an urban forest in Vale das Flores, with the eradication of invasive species, replanting and densification of areas that were subject to intervention and whose trees died, planting in spaces adjacent to the Vale das Flores stream, namely surface stabilization of slopes, through the planting of 405 trees and 2,440 shrubs, and environmental diversification. Also noteworthy is the creation of visual curtains that reduce the impact of the various viaducts and, consequently, mitigate the impact of infrastructure and road circulation in this park.
During the execution of the work, it was found, on one of the slopes, that, after the removal of the invaders, more than the surface stabilization initially planned may be necessary. For this reason, the MM and CM of Coimbra opted to suspend work on the Rua Cabral Antunes embankment, with inclinometers being installed to assess its stability conditions.
The creation of the Vale das Flores Park is part of the Plan for strengthening the city's tree structure prepared by MM, within which it undertakes to plant a significant additional quantity of trees (small, medium and large), ensuring that, in all Metrobus projects, the balance of replacement of tree heritage is 1 to 3, that is, 3 trees are planted for each one that is felled.
This plan, articulated with the CM of Coimbra, is based on two main principles:
- Promote the reinforcement of the Urban Ecological Structure, increasing environmental quality, through the creation of environmentally valued spaces, and reorganizing urban areas through the creation of structuring green axes; and
- Prioritize the use of species that exist in the city of Coimbra or that integrate adequately with the city's landscape characteristics or that reveal a significant contribution to the field of biodiversity.
To this end, a protocol was signed between the MM and the CM of Coimbra which stipulates that the MM is thus responsible for preparing the planting projects and, in conjunction with the local authority, ensuring the implementation of the Tree Structure Reinforcement Plan. That is, it is the MM's responsibility to ensure all procedures and due diligence necessary for the preparation of projects integrated into the plan and their execution, ensuring that CMC coordinates and monitors their preparation and execution phase. After the interventions, it is up to the municipality to ensure its maintenance. This situation includes any intervention that may prove necessary on the aforementioned embankment, which will also be monitored by the municipality.
In addition to the creation of this new Vale das Flores Park, MM has already planted 85 trees in the CHUC area, 65 trees in Solum, 106 trees in Via António Ferrer Correia and 35 olive trees in various parts of the city of Coimbra from the land where The Material and Workshop Park (PMO) is being built in Sobral de Ceira.
