BISCEGLIE – Blocking the circulation of vehicles in the historic center, as has already been done in nearby cities, has been discussed for years, without achieving concrete results. In fact, there have been only experimental attempts and partial administrative measures aimed at reducing traffic in the ancient village.
Now it has been decided to go further, extending the limited traffic zone (ZTL) starting from 1 July for the entire 24-hour period and all weekdays and holidays. Furthermore, with the same union ordinance, the urban pedestrian area (Apu) was established in via Ottavio Tupputi, where there are various commercial activities.
The aim is to improve tourist reception, strengthen safety and public health and protect cultural heritage (consider, for example, the numerous car fires that damaged ancient buildings and disconnected road pavement). In essence, vehicle access to the historic center will still be allowed, with renewable annual passes, only to residents and business owners. Passes of varying duration are also provided for other types of users: suppliers, elderly people’s assistants, parish priests, funeral companies, religious ceremonies, mechanical workshop customers, artisans, hospitality business customers.
two areas Checks will be carried out on both access and exit of vehicles from the restricted traffic zone, in order to guarantee compliance with the new rules. The historic center will be divided into two zones, A and B, within which authorized persons will be able to park, where permitted and exclusively in their own area. Two dedicated parking areas will also be established, one in via La Marina for users of zone A and the other for zone B in corso Umberto I (between the intersections with via Porto and via Dante Alighieri). Furthermore, in the historic center, authorized vehicles must respect the limit of 20 km/h in the restricted traffic zone and 5 km/h in the pedestrian area. From Saturday 1 June it will be possible to request the new passes, no longer paper but dematerialized, through the dedicated online portal, accessible from the Municipality’s website, in the Local Police section, by logging in with Spid (public digital identity system) or Cie (electronic identity card). From July 1st, all old paper passes will no longer be valid. It will also be possible to request specific permits, even after accessing the ZTL: for loading and unloading operations of goods; for access for people with disabilities; for the transport of guests of hospitality businesses; access to pharmacies, garages or workshops; for property owners, suppliers or in case of justified needs. From 3 to 28 June, an information desk will be activated in via Tupputi.
