The promenade of Reis Magos, the public space with better conditions for the population of Caniço to do the so-called ‘hygienic walk’ and some physical exercise, has been banned from the public for exactly one week and the Mayor of Santa Cruz said, this afternoon, to DIÁRIO, which has no deadline for reopening. In the whole of Madeira, it is the only promenade completely closed to the population.
For a week now, there have been metallic barriers from the city of Santacruzense to block the five possible accesses to that promenade. The municipal decision was taken after some people were found bathing in the sea in a state of emergency. It turns out that the City Council not only prohibited access to the beaches but also the entire contiguous promenade. “This was confusing the Caminho da Beira with the roadside”, joked, this morning, a lawyer that the DIÁRIO report found running in the middle of the road and who criticized the closure of the promenade.
The Mayor, Filipe Sousa, understands that there was no excess of zeal on the part of the municipality and that the objective was even to close both the accesses to the beach and the area used for walks by the population. “That is until there is another determination,” said the mayor, who guaranteed that the Santa Cruz promenade was also closed, something that does not correspond to reality. In fact, at least until this morning, it was possible to circulate on the seafront of the county’s capital and not even the entrances to the pebble had any barrier or warning of prohibited access. Only the maritime pontoons, bathing space and the front area of Hotel Vila Galé (which welcomes patients with Covid-19 and passengers arriving in Madeira) are enclosed with tapes.
Meanwhile, next to the metallic barriers of the Câmara de Santa Cruz that block access to the promenade of Reis Magos, the notice that the captain of the Funchal port published on March 16, posting that “all sport and leisure activities in beaches ”. This afternoon, the sea-and-land captain José Guerreiro Cardoso clarified that that provision does not prohibit movement on promenades although the gathering of people is not permitted, as in other public places.