“It’s crazy the lack of parking,” said Maria João Marques, an employee at the Escola de Música Academia Valentim de Carvalho, an institution located at number 1142 Avenida da Boavista that has more than 40 years of history in the city.

The street lights were removed from the side of the music school with the 'metrobus' works and students and parents leave in the dark because there are classes until 8:30 pm, warned Maria João Marques, noting that everything will get worse when it starts to rain.

“It is pitch black and parents complain about the darkness, which can cause dangers and accidents. It’s dramatic because there isn’t even a parking alternative for guardians,” she said.

According to Maria João Marques, Academia Valentim de Carvalho is experiencing business losses, as it is losing students who are unable to get to classes on time.

“From the end of the afternoon, the phones don't stop ringing with parents telling them that they are stuck in traffic with their children and can't get to school. Someone should ensure the safety of students at the music school, which works for the Porto community,” she warned.

At the Galeria de Santo André decoration items store, located right at the entrance to the Green Center shopping center, Cristina Moura, the owner of the space, believes that they have been losing customers since the works began and said she fears the worst at Christmas, which is “the best sales season”.

“There were barriers at the beginning of the works and it was practically impossible to enter the store. The parking lots that existed on Avenida da Boavista were removed. Because of all this, customers don’t come to the store”, explained Cristina Moura, noting that two establishments in the shopping center are already closing their doors with the construction of the ‘metrobus’.

An official source from Metro do Porto, responsible for the project, told Lusa that compensation is guaranteed “in the foreseen situations”, such as the total impediment of access, as “has been happening in relation to the construction works of the new Pink Line [ Casa da Música - São Bento]”.

Asked whether the installation of removed lamps or any alternative is planned, the source said that the “revitalization induced by the 'metrobus' calls for the installation of a new public lighting system, which includes new street lights, which are currently being assembled at some points on Avenida da Boavista”.

Metro do Porto also adds that there was “no removal of lamps”, but “only replacement with new ones”.

As for parking on Avenida da Boavista, the 227 existing spaces between the roundabout and Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa will increase by 55, while the 257 spaces currently existing on Marechal will be maintained.

The 'metrobus', whose work began in February, will connect Casa da Música Go to Praça do Império (in 12 minutes) and Anémona (in 17) in the summer of 2024, using hydrogen buses, running on a dedicated road on Avenida da Boavista and in coexistence with cars on Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa.