«La Città 30 is a political battle», says Matteo Lepore. The mayor intervenes for the first time after the green light from the Committee of Guarantors to the referendum on speed limits proposed by the centre-right. «It is not only with fair play that we are able to face the environmental transition, we must have the desire to make this our political battle». For this reason, adds the mayor «City 30 is a political battle, it’s a small part of the reflection we have to do.”
We need to collect 9,000 signatures in 90 days
Lepore continued to ask for an increase in resources «in the national fund for public transport. We must also fight so that there are drivers and women, too, to drive buses with decent salaries.” In the city council, meanwhile, the issue of collecting signatures continues to take center stage. To submit the question (“Do you want the Municipality of Bologna to move forward with the decision to build Bologna Città 30 as foreseen by Resolution DG138/2023, by the ordinances in force from 16 January 2024 and by future provisions?”) you need to collect 9,000 authenticated signatures in 90 days. The rules provide a maximum of 30 days (it is a general deadline) for the delivery of the forms to the general secretary. Then 90 days for the collection of authenticated signatures starting from the first endorsement of the forms by the general secretary.
The League: the Democratic Party should also lend a hand
According to the centre-right, the majority should also take action. «The hope is that the Democratic Party and the entire majority will also participate in the collection of signatures and lend a hand given that the Municipality has spoken of an excellent opportunity for participation. Unless it’s yet another political fiction and that in reality the only attempt will be that of obstructionism”, states the leader of the League, Matteo Di Benedetto. From the ranks of the minorities, in fact, Palazzo D’Accursio is accused of the fact that the Guarantors’ verdict arrived at the end of May and that therefore the three months available to collect the 9,000 signatures needed will also include the summer period.
From FdI, Francesca Scarano wonders “what kind of attitude” the majority will take upon the admission of the referendum: «Will you make yourself available to authenticate the signatures? Will he grant spaces? But above all, will it encourage the maximum participation that would be necessary for the referendum?”, urges the councilor.
Civic coalition: Bologna wants to express its opinion on Città 30
«We believe it is a mistake to drop the summer period in the collection of subscriptions», says another Melonian, Stefano Cavedagna. The Democratic Party, for its part, sends the proposal back to the sender. “The rules were known and must be respected”, says city councilor Claudio Mazzanti, who is also responsible for mobility policies in the dem city secretariat. «We are truly ridiculous», adds Mazzanti in the chamber, given that «whoever proposed the referendum knows what the rules are and what the Statute says, but the antiphon of we want extensions has already begun». Meanwhile, “if I were among the proponents I would be mortally offended” by the opinion expressed by the Guarantors, continues the PD councilor: “It is a referendum that is of no use and will count for nothing because in the end it has zero value, that is.” Meanwhile, from the Civic Coalition benches, Simona Larghetti appears confident: in the city there is a community that «on Città 30 can’t wait to have its say, to ask us to do more and certainly not to go back.” Finally, the School and Constitution Committee returns to the precedent of 2013, the consultative referendum on public funding for private schools: «The people of Bologna voted to allocate those municipal funds to public schools but the Municipality ignored the will of the citizens», recalls the Committee, who was among the promoters.
