Photo montage shows machine dismantling cycle path works on Avenida Afonso Pena and mayor of BH, Álvaro Damião Instagram/ Reproduction Belo Horizonte City Hall began removing sections of cycle path that had been built on Avenida Afonso Pena, in the Center-South region of the city. The measure was announced by Mayor Álvaro Damião (União Brasil) in a video published on social media this Saturday (13). "One of the most awaited days for a large part of the population in Belo Horizonte has arrived. The day on which we are going to demobilize the cycle path, the controversial Afonso Pena cycle path", he stated. The construction of 4.2 km of cycle path was planned in a revitalization project in Afonso Pena with a total cost of R$26.3 million. The works began at the end of 2023, but were stopped in April 2024 after questions in court (read more below). The structure, however, is a demand from cyclists in the city, who requested the completion of the works in court and are now trying to stop the dismantling. In the video posted online, the mayor committed to "increasing the number of cycle lanes in Belo Horizonte", but said that this will not be done on avenues such as Afonso Pena, Amazonas, Antônio Carlos and Cristiano Machado. "Traffic is already very choked and there is no room for this on these roads. We were waiting for the Court to authorize it, the Court authorized it, the city council came and demobilized it", he declared. This Sunday (14), cyclists asked the Court to suspend the demolition of the cycle path, but the request has not yet been analyzed. According to Cristiano Scarpelli, from the Ciclo Rota BH movement, around R$314,000 were invested in the works. Another R$300,000 was spent on the planning and design stage. "And now there is the expense of dismantling, which we are still going to investigate, causing damage to the treasury. [...] It is clear that the mayor does not prioritize and does not value the construction of cycle paths as a measure to protect lives and improve traffic, but, in this case, as this cycle path is provided for by law, there is no discretion for the mayor to choose whether or not to do it", he stated, remembering that the Master Plan foresees a cycle network in Afonso Pena. g1 asked for a position from Belo Horizonte City Hall and access to the court decision that authorized the demobilization, but did not receive a response until the last update of this report. Understand The construction of the cycle path was planned in a project to revitalize Avenida Afonso Pena, started in 2023, which also included lanes for public transport, asphalt resurfacing, signage, urban furniture and landscaping. The plan was to build 4.2 km of cycle path along the central median of the road, from Praça Rio Branco to Praça da Bandeira. However, in April 2024, the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais (MPMG) asked the Court to stop the interventions, alleging a lack of licensing and that the implementation of the structure proved to be "incompatible with the location". In a preliminary decision in the same month, the Court denied MPMG's request. Despite this, the city council decided to suspend the works. The Public Ministry appealed. In June 2025, the Court again authorized the implementation of the cycle path, but the works were not resumed. This week, MG1 showed that the city paid R$23.3 million for the revitalization works on Avenida Afonso Pena, but little actually changed on the road (see video below). According to the Capital Development Superintendency (Sudecap), the interventions were completed in 2025 and included paving, implementation of lanes for public transport, asphalt resurfacing and signage. Afonso Pena project, in BH, is completed, but intrigues the population Most viewed videos on g1 Minas: