Lisbon Council “surprised” by Carnide meter rampage

Lisbon town hall has said it was “taken by surprise” by the ongoings in Carnide on Wednesday night, when around 200 residents gathered to rip out new parking meters.

The meters had been recently installed by municipal parking company EMEL. Residents removed the equipment after claiming they had not been consulted about it.

Lisbon Council described the act as “serious and unprecedented, of deliberate damage to municipal patrimony, and unacceptable act in a state of law.”

Around 200 residents from the Carnide neighbourhood in Benfica, Lisbon, gathered late Wednesday night to rip out seven new EMEL parking metres in that area.

The residents say the metres were installed without prior public consultation.

At around midnight on Wednesday night local Parish Mayor Fábio Sousa confirmed the action and said the metres had been removed, but not damaged or vandalised.

He said the residents’ intentions were to give them back to whoever installed them.