The Retail Fair of Guimarães returned to Campo de São Mamede, a location that was not prepared to host the weekly fair, forcing the municipality to implement compensatory measures. Some stallholders expressed concern especially about the floor conditions, the dust caused by the movement of people and vehicles, and fears that the change of location could reduce customer attendance during the intervention period. Alberto Martins, councilman of the Municipal Chamber of Guimarães, considered that the first day went positively, underscoring that the council was in contact with stallholders, the association that represents them, traders and visitors.
During the four months that the fair is relocated, stallholders are exempt from paying fees. To facilitate access to Campo de São Mamede, the Municipal Chamber decided to make Line 3 of public transport free on Fridays, which passes near the venue with a frequency of about 20 minutes. Alberto Martins stated that the measure had the intended effect, observing significant use of public transport on site. A transport solution was also created between the area of Multiusos de Guimarães and the Hospital da Senhora da Oliveira, since the parking lot of the fair venue will be unavailable during the intervention.
The council identified a concern related to the height of some vehicles used by stallholders, which may have difficulty accessing areas with reduced ceiling height under the venue's covering. A team has already measured the tallest vans and the Chamber is in contact with the contractor and design team to evaluate the possibility of introducing changes during the execution of the work. The work has not yet started, with the setup of the construction site currently underway. Alberto Martins added that the possibility of maintaining the free transport solution beyond the completion of the works is under evaluation.