in that order, and both cross the A28. With these motorways, Póvoa de Varzim is accessible within minutes and central in the Northern Littoral Urban-Metropolitan Region of Northern Portugal, with 2.99 million inhabitants (2001 census). Although it lost usefulness for long distances, the National Roads system has acquired local importance: EN13 that cuts the city in half, in a north-south direction, is used by commuters originating from the northern suburbs and from Vila do Conde, in the south, to travel downtown. The EN205 and the EN206 are used by commuters starting from the interior of the municipality. The traditional road system of the city, composed of roads that run parallel in the direction of the sea, can be seen in any of the following avenues: Avenida do Mar, Avenida Vasco da Gama, Avenida Mouzinho de Albuquerque, and Avenida Santos Graça. The Avenida dos Descobrimentos and Avenida dos Banhos, in other hand, run parallel to the coast. The growth of the city inland and northwards made ring roads more important, this can be seen in Avenida 25 de Abril, an urban belt road. Bikeways The main bike paths in Póvoa de Varzim — known as ciclovias in Portuguese — are the Marginal in the coastal area, the Ecopista linking the city and the countryside, the Parque da Cidade, linking the City Park and the beaches, and the Via B, the urban-belt bike path. The bikeways are all interlinked. The Marginal bikeway was built in 1998 and runs for 2 km in Póvoa de Varzim, going through the main beaches of Avenida dos Banhos and around the seaport. It extends for another 3.5 km across the Vila do Conde beaches and reaching the fort at the estuary of the Ave River. The Ecopista is a shared-use path, for bicycling and walking, 28 km long (18 of which in Póvoa de Varzim), linking Póvoa de Varzim and the inland town of Famalicão through the countryside and suburban areas. One of the main attractions on the Ecopista is the Romanesque Church in Rates and it grow throw flat terrain, despite crossing the hills of the countryside. The City Park to the Coastal Area Bikeway started being built in November 2018 and it is mostly exclusive for bikes, except in areas where that is not possible, such as the area where it crosses the EN13 highway. The Via B Bikeway was built in 2018 and