In a Region where even only the highways are open construction sites and traveling long distances is increasingly more problematicthe situation in city It’s certainly not the best. Let’s imagine we can travel the route Palermo Catania in an hour, today it would be a dream. Yet in the rest of Italy it is feasible.
There is a lot of work to be done in our area,” sMany works relating to the railway system, for example, have been carried out within the PNRRR funds, but they are not enough”, more needs to be done. “What is being done now on the railway system had already been planned with other funds, this planning was later moved to the pnrr, we have no additional resources”, this is what was said by Angela Biondi secretary of the CGIL Sicily.
Sicily needs to have one full railway network, “the region has the right to high speed And we need to guarantee a mobility system in internal areas, with a road system that can be defined as such”.
“In this way the face of Sicily would change”.
Palermoaligning itself with the general system, is a city that lives systematically of private cars since, as we know, the mass public transport leaves something to be desired.
These are shortcomings that clearly impact the quality of life not only of the people of Palermo but also of those who do not live here. According to what he says Mario Ridulfo, secretary of the CGIL Palermoobviously in the peak seasons the situation gets even worse.
THE modernization works of the railway network, the bypass and the railway ring, when they become fully operational, will enable us to have decent mass public transport. “With greater frequency it could be a remedy for the commuting that is typical of our city”. A series of problems that could probably be solved.
“But it must be said that the railway ring is still a incomplete projectmuch of the work still needs to be put in place”. Railway lines and trams are works that were conceived 20 years ago, financed 15 years ago and implemented 10 years ago, “we are still in the phase where ten years later we still don’t have all the lines planned, the railway link has not yet been completed, the same thing goes for the railway ring”, are all works that in some way limit a good part of the city.
Not to mention the gentle mobility, cycle paths in the rest of Italy and Europe are well-established, for example in cities similar to ours, Mediterranean, on the sea, like Valencia, we find hundreds of kilometers of cycle paths. “Yes, in Palermo we have some cycle paths, but different from the others, not connected to each other, and which move within normal traffic and wild parking. Our cycle paths are not protected”.
And the interchange areas? Anyone arriving within the perimeter of the restricted traffic zone and having to leave their private car, leaves it wherever they happen to be. “But if I can’t even find public transport, it’s clear that at that point I decide to use private transport. As happens every day in Palermo”.
I can give you an alternative scooters but only if these are regulated and made safe, “The use of helmets should be made mandatory”. In a city where the pavement is a Gruyère, the traffic is very chaotic and the rules leave something to be desired (CLICK HERE), it is complicated for those traveling with scooters. “The risk of getting hurt is high. Especially for those who experience the street as a place of work.”
What will happen in a few months, heading into the summer season? Palermo it is a city devoted to mass tourism, on average three cruise ships arrive from the port per week, 5 thousand people per ship. We are talking about 15 thousand people pouring into the city. And what do they find? A street full of cars, some horse carriages, some small trains on tires to take you around the historic center and some buses. “We need a reception system that immediately puts them in the center, and therefore a decent transport system”.
The increase in flows in airport it is no less. “Palermo is not ready to welcome so many people, it is not organized and if we want to look to the future it would be appropriate for the Region, the Municipality, the Metropolitan city to develop a plan and not in a few decades but in a few years”.
Palermo, a city far from the European model. “We have a wealth that should favor and help us. What we need is immediate acceleration. There is still a lot of work to do”.
