Sao Paulo
While thousands of fans eagerly await Taylor Swift’s first performance in São Paulo this Friday (24), the neighbors of Allianz Parque in the West Zone of São Paulo are preparing to restart a marathon full of disruptions.
On event days, sections of the road behind the Palmeiras Stadium will be closed to vehicle traffic. The closure will take place in Palestra Itália, Caraíbas and Diana streets, as there is a concentration of the public there and queues form to access the arena.
In Taylor Swift’s case, there’s another concern: the road closures are happening earlier than usual. Instead of starting in the early afternoon, access will be closed starting at 8 a.m. “It’s the first time they’re closing so soon,” says dubbing manager Valeuska Barroso, 41, a resident of Palestra Itália.
Residents of houses and apartment complexes have the right to break through the blockade, but this does not happen in practice. They say that those living on closed roads are blocked by roadblocks carried out by the organization’s employees and that they do not receive support from the military police and the CET (Traffic Engineering Company) to provide access.
“I’ve already spent three days not leaving the house, I couldn’t even walk,” says pensioner Ricardo Augusto de Carvalho, 73. “I didn’t know that a private agent had the power to give me the right to leave and to come.”, he complains.
He chose the area as his home 20 years ago because he and his family wanted to enjoy the club’s leisure area, which was demolished next to the old stadium to build the new arena, which opened in 2014.
The new venue increased the audience capacity from 27,000 to over 43,000 people. In addition, it has become one of the most suitable places to host large musical performances in the city.
In addition to the American singer’s three consecutive shows taking place until Sunday (26th), the Palmeiras Stadium hosted a series of shows by internationally known artists such as Canadian singer Alanis Morissette on the 14th. and the RBD group, which gave four presentations between the 16th and 19th of this month.
There are ten more shows in December, including three by former Beatle Paul McCartney. There is still a home team football game on the calendar until the end of the year.
Palmeiras will face AméricaMG in the Brazilian championship on the 29th. The club is a major contender for the title and if they become champions, the party will take place in the backyard of the Palmeirenses and their neighbors.
It’s not just those who live next to the stadium who are complaining. Patrícia Hernandez, 46, lives in Vila Ipojuca, three kilometers from the arena, but has to change her family’s daily routine during events.
“Our youngest goes to a school near Água Branca Park and morning classes take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., just when traffic begins to disrupt the area near the stadium,” he says.
“On concert days and some match days, we get stuck in traffic due to the increasing number of cars, lines of people, fan stands and vendors.” “They don’t understand the traffic,” he complains.
Lawyer Maurício Januzzi explains that private agents do not have the authority to block residents’ access and that prior accreditation is required to facilitate traffic. Residents came forward Sheet who do not have such identification.
Management company Allianz Parque said it is providing neighboring residents with voluntary access to the Bom Vizinho program application, allowing registered residents to access it even faster. In any case, properly identified program observers are at roadblocks to assist residents, according to the company.
CET reported that it maintains agents in operational posts around Allianz Parque when that stadium hosts football matches and events, and that patrol and traffic inspection activities, as well as monitoring of roads and operational blockades, begin in advance.