In the City 30 match, Councilor Orioli, you are not alone. Proof of this is the letter to the Financial Times from the main European cities. How to interpret such a broad and diversified participation?
«Technical and scientific findings say that, especially in cities, the best way to guarantee safety is to go slower. We also saw this by participating in the annual conference on road safety promoted by the EU in Dublin last 15 April, in which I was a speaker: in urban settings when it comes to safety we talk about 30 zones and ways to slow down cars, to harmony between different road users needs to go more slowly.”
How do you explain the government’s ostracism towards these speed restrictions?
«In general, and I agree with what she said in the interview with her colleague from Milan Arianna Censi, there is the perception of an imposed limit. And I don’t like this. And there is ostracism on this. Because then, if we think about it, we normally go slower than at 30 and normally when people meet us they ask for greater security. So naturally there is a demand for safety and a habit of going slowly. But when someone imposes it on us, we experience it badly. On a political level I believe there is exploitation. And I consider this serious, because choices regarding mobility should be made based on numbers and the numbers say that if we slow down accidents decrease and their severity decreases. These are measures that work.”
When will the limits on the Hills change?
«The Hills are extra-urban territory and in the extra-urban areas there are limits ranging from 50 to 90 per hour: there are areas in which the limitation is not adequate because the streets are narrow and without safe space for pedestrians. We have made a general plan and will begin to implement it in the summer. We will divide the map of the Hills into parts and start with the speed limitation, then we will continue by better regulating the intersections and reviewing the signs, perhaps inserting measures requested by citizens such as mirrors in some points. Meanwhile, in recent days the renovation of the sidewalk in Via Putti has begun, which has been requested for some time and which we are doing with a collaboration agreement.”
From 3 May the two velox will be active in viale Berti Pichat. When will it happen with the other four announced (in viale Lenin, viale Cavina, viale Togliatti and viale Sabena)?
«In June, July, September and October».
Given the recent Supreme Court ruling, aren’t you afraid of a hail of appeals?
«The ministry has supported the substantial equivalence between approval and homologation, and our velox are approved. This issue had not emerged until the Veneto ruling. We comply with the Ministry’s instructions and await clarifications.”
What have the revenues from the already active veloxes been invested in?
«According to article 208 there is a restricted reuse of at least 50% in road safety and this concerns both road signs and local police checks».
Has the launch of Città 30 affected the reduction in fines for velox traffic in viale Panzacchi and via Stalingrado?
«I would say it had an influence, yes. Furthermore, the majority of fines issued by the patrols who continue to check on the road are certainly not for exceeding the speed limits. Together with the controls, the great 30 campaign also urged us to be more careful about how we move.”
Soon we will also travel by tram. How will Bologna change with the “new” vehicle?
«The tram will be a beautiful and effective, new means of transport. People don’t imagine it that much, because I see that the criticisms about the tram mostly arise from a lack of knowledge of the vehicle. It will surprise everyone a little. The way in which some areas of Bologna are accessed will change and its face will change because around the tram there is urban redevelopment and space redevelopment work. And in the end it will give us back a very different city.”
Taxi, when will the announcement be?
«We don’t know yet. The national authority gave us the OK on the proposals made, shared with the taxi drivers. We plan to soon issue the tender and other proposals to improve the service.”
Mayor Matteo Lepore announced news about the connections with Marconi. What is it referring to?
«We are working 360° on Marconi because the airport must be increasingly effectively connected to the city. Now we have reached a very satisfactory level on the People Mover, we are working on taxis, but in reality we are looking at many aspects and I hope that there will be some news soon.”
New means of connection?
“We can’t say anything yet.”
