MONTESILVANO. There are those who consider it necessary to reduce traffic and improve connections between Montesilvano and Pescara and those who, however, see it as a now outdated solution which would not produce the desired effects and, on the contrary, would deprive residents of an artery important cycle/pedestrian route. The theme is that of the trolleybus on the park road, which has inflamed the debate in the two cities for years, and which sees, in this case more than in others, the two candidates for mayor of Montesilvano taking two opposing positions. The outgoing first citizen, Ottavio De Martinis he has always said he was in favor of the project and recently waged a battle in court, alongside Tua, against the driveways overlooking Via della Liberazione. On the opposite front, however, the centre-left candidate Fabrizio D’Addazioalthough in favor of sustainable mobility, openly stands against the project and, tomorrow, will cycle along the park road, starting at 10.30 from viale Europa, and then go on stage, at 11 in front of the PalaRoma, and explain the own reasons together with the candidate for mayor of Pescara for the centre-left coalition, Carlo Costantini.
«The trolleybus is an unfinished work whose function needs to be rethought: the route between Pescara and Montesilvano is not of much use, as things stand it is unusable, it is better to give it back to citizens for walking, equipping it properly», comments D’Addazio. «From a future perspective, we can think of a route that goes from Cappelle sul Tavo, through Montesilvano to reach the border with Francavilla al Mare, at the same time, from Pescara to the airport. It can certainly be a hybrid vehicle, partly with cables, partly with a thermal engine like the initial project of Balfour Beatty, which later, as is known, went bankrupt. A lot of money has been spent over the years on this work and continues to be spent; if we have to remove the park road, which is appreciated by the citizens, we must provide a service that works, is effective, useful, for the whole city, Nuova Pescara, and fits into an urban traffic plan”.
De Martinis has an opposite opinion. “I have always expressed my favorable opinion on the trolleybus and I continue to maintain that it is a great opportunity for our territory”, comments the centre-right candidate. «First of all, because it would shorten travel times between Pescara and Montesilvano, then because it would encourage the use of public transport, discouraging the use of cars and decongesting traffic. To this I add that, while European directives are increasingly moving towards sustainable mobility, it is absurd that those who flaunt these issues so much are against the trolleybus.” Finally, on the topic of taking away the park street from pedestrians and cyclists, the mayor highlights: «The real park street for me is the seafront where, whoever wants to walk, cycle or do sports, has sidewalks, a cycle path, a beach at their disposal. , tools. Furthermore, right on the Riviera, we already have projects to make it even more attractive and functional in the near future.”
