Latina has obtained the Blue Flag for the eleventh consecutive time, the recognition which, in addition to guaranteeing the excellent quality of the water in a marina, gives tourists the certainty of being able to take advantage of high-level services. But what does the capital’s seafront offer today, in mid-May, to those who want to enjoy a day at the beach? 15 days from June it seems more like the winter sea, a mix of out-of-season abandonment and preparations still at the beginning. But above all: another year has passed and the problems are still the same.
THE CATWALKS
In section b of the seafront, the valuable one, the one that falls within the boundaries of the national park, the beach can be reached by climbing over the dune with wooden walkways. As at the end of every winter they are in bad shape, but for now there is no sign of restoration work. In many cases sections of handrail are missing. Often the steps of the ladders are very high, which certainly does not represent a problem for those who are at the height of their strength, but which is certainly an inconvenience when we are talking about the elderly or people who need a firm, safe and of a comfortable descent to the beach. This is why there are walkways accessible to people with disabilities, they are the latest built and they seem to be the best placed. In this case, however, there is a significant problem: the total absence of plastic walkways which, once arriving at the beach, allow those in wheelchairs to reach the sea. At the moment there is no trace of it. This is on both the left and right sides (section A). Regardless of the summer season, access to the sea for everyone should be a right to be enjoyed 365 days a year, also given the favorable climate that characterizes our territory.
Furthermore, on the right side, where the walkways may be less complex due to a less high and dense dune, they are poorly maintained and sometimes invaded by sand, which prevents the comfortable passage of a wheelchair, i.e. the use for which they were been designed and implemented. Then there is the curious case of the last walkway before Foce Verde, reported as usable by people with disabilities, where however there is not the slightest trace of a walkway, not even for independent people and indeed, what used to be the access to the sea is now walled. Here, however, there are also the remains of those wooden structures that many years ago provided shade at the exit from the sea and now look like postmodern installations.
Staying on the right side, there is the “cycle lane” issue. Coming from Via del Lido by bike, you can make the turn onto section A and after 400 meters the track suddenly ends and then resumes with the start of the one-way street, forcing cyclists to travel for about a kilometer and a half unsafely. This is also an atavistic problem, another year has passed and it has not been resolved.
For those who use a bicycle it is also difficult to park it: there are very few racks, located in conjunction with the accesses to the beach provided by the municipality, which on the right side are not very numerous, on the contrary. In general, regardless of the specific situations, the widespread feeling is of degradation, with the presence of bins totally undersized compared to what would be the actual need. The result? The rubbish overflows and the spectacle is unseemly. As for the bins on the beach, for the moment they haven’t even been installed. It goes without saying: the absence of toilets is total. As for drinking water fountains, there are only two in Foce Verde.
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