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Life will improve: City Hall’s actions will benefit the population of Rio even more
Published on 16/12/2022 - 07:35 | Updated on 06/03/2023 - 11:35
The Super Rio Health Center - Fábio Motta/City of Rio In its two years in office, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall has carried out important actions that have benefited the population in all regions of the city, such as the Super Centro Carioca de Saúde, the Ginásios Experimentais Tecnológicos (GET), the purchase of new articulated buses for the BRT system, and the Luz Maravilha and Asfalto Liso programs. And the lives of Rio de Janeiro residents will improve even more, with new openings and the completion of works in 2023 in the areas of Health, Education, and Infrastructure, among others. Below, you can check out the main actions already carried out and those that will be completed to bring even more benefits to the residents of Rio de Janeiro.
More health
In 2022, the city of Rio gained the most modern public health complex in Latin America. With an investment of R$250 million, the Super Carioca Health Center, in Benfica, will be the largest structure in this sector in the city, with capacity for 113 thousand exams, consultations and procedures per month. The first unit to start operating, the Centro Carioca de Especialidades (CCE) has already performed more than 27,8 thousand appointments, which, together with other actions by the Health Department to increase the number of vacancies, helped to reduce the waiting lists in the Regulatory System (Sisreg). In early February, the Centro Carioca de Diagnóstico e Tratamento por Imagem (CCDTI) and the Centro Carioca do Olho (CCO) were opened. Now, the three units planned in the project are in operation.
In two years of management, of the 286 units that needed renovations and structural improvements, 200 have already been revitalized and, by the end of the administration, the reform of another 86 is planned. More than 3,5 professionals have already been hired for Primary Care and there are selection processes underway for the admission of other doctors, nurses, nursing technicians and community health agents for various regions of the city.
With the expansion of services, several selection processes for hiring professionals were opened and the municipal health network has already has 1.297 more doctors than in the previous administration.
More Education
The Municipal Department of Education (SME) launched, in 2022, the most innovative public school model in the country. The Technological Experimental Gymnasium (GET) is part of a new concept that encourages students to develop 2023st century skills through the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) approach, project-based learning and resources that promote digital culture. Four GETs have already been opened and the network is expected to have more than 70 schools operating with this teaching model by the end of XNUMX.
The current administration has also resumed contracts that were suspended during the previous government, for the construction and reconstruction of 24 schools, 19 of which are from the Fábrica de Escolas program and five from the Plano de Legado Olímpico (Olympic Legacy Plan). Four of these are being built as GETs, using materials from the dismantling of the Arena do Futuro, in the neighborhoods of Bangu, Campo Grande, Rio das Pedras and Santa Cruz. The fifth legacy school will be located in the place of Arena Carioca 3, which will be transformed into the Ginásio Educacional Olímpico Isabel Salgado (GEO).
In 2022, the SME also launched the CIEP Revitalization Program, which will offer significant improvements to the 101 units of the municipal education network that offer this teaching model. The department has already completed more than 225 projects. Of these, 140 are renovation projects, of which 71 are completed and the rest are in progress.
Public transport
The City Hall invested heavily to requalify the BRT System, with the purchase of around 600 new buses, being that 110 of them were delivered on March 1st, the city's anniversary. With this delivery, there are 339 articulated vehicles in operation in the BRT system, a number that includes the buses from the old fleet – an increase of 185% after the intervention of the City of Rio.
It was also made the recovery of 106 of the 125 BRT system stations, 45 of which are in the Transcarioca corridor. Improvements include replacing glass panels and doors with hollow steel plates; built-in wiring and armored door mechanisms; light and sound alarms on doors, indicating opening and closing, and automatic door locking. Other services include internal and external painting, new electrical installations and visual programming, improved lighting and installation of guardrails.
Another great novelty is the granting of the operation of the digital ticketing system. The new system, which is unprecedented in Brazilian capitals, will give the municipality control over fare collection, allow for greater financial transparency, planning with reliable data and improvement of transportation services. The BRT system will begin operations in the first half of 2023.
Summer Plan
The City Hall is preparing to face the heavy rains that usually hit the city at the beginning of the year. Summer Plan 22/23 foresees a total investment of R$1,2 billion to carry out 235 works, such as slope containment, river dredging and drain cleaning.
To get an idea of the volume of resources applied, the budget prepared by the previous administration for 2021 predicted spending of only R$6 on works by Geo-Rio and R$400 on actions by Rio-Águas. Among the preventive actions are the recovery of slopes and unclogging of drainage channels on hills and important avenues in the city, such as in Rocinha, Santa Marta, Avenida Niemeyer and Estrada Grajaú-Jacarepaguá, in addition to reducing flooding and eliminating critical drainage points, such as in Jardim Maravilha, in Guaratiba, and in the Comunidade do Rollas, in Santa Cruz.
Maravilha Neighborhood
The Bairro Maravilha program has transformed the reality of areas of the city that suffer from a lack of infrastructure, providing paving, drainage and basic sanitation. By 2024, 90 locations in the North and West zones will benefit. So far, five projects have been completed and around 50 are underway. In addition, 30 projects that have already been tendered should begin soon and the rest are still in the design phase.
Wonder Light
Public lighting was renewed in the city thanks to Wonder Light program, a public-private partnership (PPP) between the City Hall, through Rioluz, and the company Smart Luz, benefiting streets with heavy traffic, tunnels and alleys in communities. The initial goal of replacing the 450 thousand light points in the capital with LED bulbs was achieved at the end of October, ahead of the scheduled deadline, which was December. Replacing these bulbs will lead to savings of around R$100 million in the city's public accounts in 2022. In addition, at least 7.558 steel poles were replaced by fiber models, which are safer and more resistant.
Smooth Asphalt
The Smooth Asphalt program will revitalize more than 450 kilometers of roads throughout the city, by 2024, prioritizing the major traffic corridors, which concentrate the greatest flow of vehicles. The total area already completed exceeds 140 kilometers. Among the roads already completed are Uranos Street; 24 de Maio Street; São Francisco Xavier Street; Lúcio Costa Avenue; Padre Leonel Franca Avenue; São Clemente Street; Epitácio Pessoa Avenue; and Padre Guilherme Decaminada Avenue.
In addition to milling, which is the scraping of damaged asphalt, and resurfacing, which consists of applying a new layer of asphalt, services such as deep repair and releveling of caps are performed, as well as the application of horizontal signage.
Parks and Squares
The City Hall executes a major park and square renovation project of the city. Quinta da Boa Vista, for example, underwent extensive renovation as part of the actions to commemorate the Bicentennial of Independence. Among other services, the terrace garden in front of the National Museum, the four gates of the park, monuments and sculptures were delivered, all brand new. Flamengo Park is also undergoing a complete renovation, which includes the synthetic grass soccer fields, the sports courts, and maintenance of the pavement of the bike path and the skate park.
In Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, the entire cycle path is being milled and resurfaced, in addition to implementing an alternative route in the Parque dos Patins and Corte do Cantagalo sections. In Glória, the services include resurfacing the main roads around the neighborhood, restoring the Murada da Glória, and resurfacing Portuguese stone and cement floors. Conservation and maintenance work in Parque Madureira highlights include resurfacing the tennis court, playground, sports courts, and the deck of the Arcos Olimpíadas.
Renovations are also underway at the Cláudio Coutinho square in Leblon; Múcio Leão square in Laranjeiras; and Martin Luther King Avenue, at number 13.026, in Fazenda Botafogo, among others. In total, 360 squares have already been renovated or are still undergoing improvements in the city.
Urban Cleaning
To reinforce urban cleaning in the city, Comlurb the number of motorized equipment and vehicles increased by more than 300 this year dedicated to urban cleaning, such as beach tractors with attached implements for sifting sand, large sweepers, motorized pump vans, side-arm mower tractors and vans specifically for revitalizing squares, among others. In addition, 600 new mowers (handheld equipment) for mowing flowerbeds and gardens began to arrive. The company also put its first compactor truck powered by Natural Gas for Vehicles (NGV) to the streets in November. The vehicle makes less noise and is ideal for night work.
Another new feature implemented by Comlurb is the ecopoints for the voluntary delivery of household waste, rubble, useless and recyclable goods, located in areas with the highest levels of irregular disposal. All of these initiatives are reflected in the good results of the Cleaning Standard Index (IPL), which measures the quality of urban cleaning. Over the last two years, the IPL average has risen from 64 to 73 points.
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