PANICALE – They call it BRT, short for Bus Rapid Transit. This is a new collective public transport system that should connect the center of Perugia and the Santa Maria della Misericordia hospital (formerly Silvestrini) with some hamlets, reaching as far as Castel del Piano traveling on a dedicated, specially created preferential lane. A kind of tramway like that of Florence and other cities, but without rails. In any case, electric and therefore “green”. About twenty stops and short journey times. And from Castel del Piano the BRT should then continue up to Tavernelle, using the SR Pievaiola in this section. In the intentions, an excellent thing to be seen in a tradition of alternative mobility which has seen the city of Perugia lead the way, first with the escalators in the historic centre, then with the Minimetrò.
Except… citizens of the neighborhoods where the BRT will have to pass have already renamed it Hoax Rapid Transit. And many are on the warpath. Above all due to the characteristics and dimensions of the vehicle that would be used: an 18 meter long “serpentine” capable of carrying 130 passengers.
In the original project, Castel del Piano was supposed to be the departure station, which would be followed by twenty-two stations, with a final terminus: the Fontivegge railway station. A long road route partly newly designed and partly taking advantage of existing roads such as sections of the Pievaiola. But since the characteristics of the new means of transport are now known to everyone, a strong protest has arisen among the populations of that area to the west of Perugia. “Devastating for the neighbourhood” say for example the residents of via Chiusi in Ponte della Pietra, but this very negative opinion is shared by all the inhabitants of the other hamlets starting from those of Castel del Piano: “A vehicle of that size has some unsustainable management costs – it is everyone’s belief – would create a strong impact on all traffic to the point of paralyzing it”.
Then there is the whole issue of road adaptation, that is, the construction of entire new stretches of road on which only this electromechanical “bison” should run. To create these new road sections, hundreds of plants would have to be cut down (we’re talking about 600) and then lots of concrete and asphalt.
Following this, citizens have been asking for meetings with the Mayor for some time. And the mayor received some of the residents a few days ago “taking note of the problems relating to tree felling and beyond”; a possible solution proposed by the Municipality is to widen the roadway by incorporating the trees into the sidewalks, but this is not feasible for all plants: “Their replacement or the planting of new trees in other points – write the residents – does not represent a solution”.
“Let’s be clear – specifies a citizen of Castel del Piano – the idea of the shuttle itself is good, it is this project which has such an impact in many respects that we contest”.
But the BRT issue, the social malaise that is dragging behind it increasingly widespread and noisy, is in all likelihood destined to spread to other territories as if it were a contagious virus. Yes, because in recent months, a variant to the project was approved to bring, as we were saying, the gigantic electric bus to Tavernelle.
This is a request that has been rightly supported for a long time by the two mayors of Panicale and Piegaro. In short, the first station would be set back in Tavernelle, from here the metro bus would depart, making a single stop up to Castel del Piano. Via Pievaiola.
However, even the citizens of Val Nestore are beginning to fear that the size of this new imposing means of transport could slow down all the private traffic that runs on the Pievaiola, which, despite the numerous renovations (some still to be completed), will certainly not be able to which distinguish it, bear the cumbersome means of transport in both directions, which apparently have a frequency of one bus every hour. It is precisely on this non-negligible detail that popular irony is already manifesting itself. In particular, the former councilor of the municipality of Panicale Davide Stamponi summarizes it as follows: “Imagine if one day someone thought of organizing a public transport service that connects Tavernelle with Perugia, through ONE RUN EVERY HOUR, (I repeat, ONE RUN EVERY HOUR) of SPECIAL ARTICULATED BUSES with 130 seats and a length of 18 METERS. Imagine how many people in Piazza Amendola, every hour, will jostle to get on the RAPID TRANSIT BUS to go to Perugia. Well, you won’t believe it, but this PROFACE is reported even on page. 10 of the End of Mandate Report signed a few days ago by the outgoing Mayor of Panicale. In my humble opinion, this small example should be sufficient to give an idea of the very low level of infrastructure planning of the current Municipal Administration”. In Stamponi’s joke there is probably a hint of pre-election controversy (evidently the former councilor is not on the side of the outgoing and re-nominated mayor Cherubini) and we will see and hear a lot of things like this between now and June 9th.
In short, the summary is this: the idea is good, but the means and methods risk causing more damage than gains. Why an “18-metre snake with 130 seats”? perhaps normal shuttles – obviously electric – would be enough, so to speak, with 9, 20 or 50 seats depending on the timetable… Where are 130 people ready to get on the BRT every hour between Tavernelle, Castel del Piano to go to Perugia center and vice versa?
Some of those protesting also blame it on money and the waste of public money. In addition to the impact on traffic etc.. According to many (and objectively the underlining seems relevant) the potential user base, also in terms of number of inhabitants, for a vehicle of this kind does not exist and will not exist. There is no necessary “critical mass”. However, it may be available for smaller vehicles.
