Increase in the cost of parking in some areas of the historic center of Reggio Emilia, the Falcomatà administration ‘parks’ (a very suitable term) the decision and waits to understand how to move.
“We have asked Atam to temporarily suspend the remodulation of hourly rates for parking on Lungomare Falcomatà. This is because we consider it fundamental to share the path we have undertaken, with a view to a new way of understanding mobility and summer accommodation throughout the city center area.
An objective to be achieved through a series of innovations that aim to make not only the Lungomare Falcomatà less chaotic, more liveable, more family-friendly, more sustainable from the point of view of vehicular traffic and respect for the environment, but also the other areas of most frequented during the summer period. It is a path that we want to share, administration, business world, associations and citizens”.
So the mayor Falcomatà, a few hours before the ‘gong’ that would have seen the cost of parking double, he announced the administration’s step back, a step which however is not definitive at the moment.
Those who immediately criticized the administration’s choice is Claudio Aloisiopresident of Confesercenti Reggio Calabria.
‘Inappropriate and harmful increase for citizens and businesses. Increases passed off as an attempt to improve the quality of urban life, however, will do nothing but further reduce the number of visitors to the city centre’, the thought (in summary) expressed by Aloisio on 11 April.
In the aftermath of the Falcomatà administration’s decision, we listened to Aloisio and also Lorenzo Labate (president of ConfCommercio Rc) to listen to the point of view of the two trade associations.
“I consider the decision to suspend the resolution that would have doubled the cost of parking from today to be wise. We are waiting to deal with the municipal administration, which has not yet happened. Mayor Falcomatà talks about ‘suspension’ in the statement, which means that a definitive choice has not yet been made but for the moment I comment positively on the decision.
I had the opportunity to visit Marseille and its surroundings, thanks to the new Ryanair flights – continues Aloisio – and I noticed that in the tourist villages of Provence the cost is 1.50 euros per hour. We are talking about one of the most important areas of France, with I think more intense tourism than Reggio Calabria, so I wouldn’t understand the reason for a higher cost in our city”, highlighted the president of Confesercenti Reggio Calabria.
Also Lorenzo Labate, president of ConfCommercio Reggio Calabriacomments positively on the suspension by the administration.
“We had a first meeting with mayor Falcomatà a few weeks ago, on which occasion we expressed the critical issues regarding the decision to increase the cost of parking to 2 euros per hour”.
In particular, Labate highlights two factors.
“There is a habit among the citizens of the province to stop in Reggio for half a day or even more, to shop and more generally visit the city. This would mean, with the increase in cost, around 15 or 20 euros depending on the hours of stay. An unthinkable figure which is more than a tourist tax.
Another enormous inconvenience concerns citizens who have to come to the center for work reasons, also in this case we are talking about an average stay of 6-8 hours. These are two problems to take into account, we need to understand what the municipal administration’s ideas are on the matter.”
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