LECCE – New criticisms of the mayoral candidate Adriana Poli Bortone towards the outgoing administration. This time they concern the parking issue: you promise citizens 5 thousand car parking spaces and greater attention to a multi-ethnic and Euro-Mediterranean city. “Having waited seven years to paint two stripes on the asphalt in the Settelacquare area, which has always been intended for car parking, and then pass it off as a new interchange car park, seems truly laughable to me, if not pathetic. In seven years the municipal administration should have identified new car parks and optimized existing areas, but also made these car parks greener. Now, a few days before the vote, “we do what we can” (in the case of Settelacquare, without even changing the substance)”, writes the aspiring first citizen in a note.
Alongside the promise of thousands of new seats, it declares that it has identified various areas in the city, including the centre, as well as “intelligent interchange areas (on the surface, underground or in silos) with free space signage systems updated in real time, essential for facilitate access for motorists, introducing strong discounts for private individuals who want to invest in these solutions”.
The question of foreign citizens
From parking lots to the multicultural city, the digs at the Salvemini administration continue. “As for the Settelacquare area, I have to express a reflection. On some occasions I have noticed situations that are worth highlighting. As is known, this is an area frequented mainly by peaceful non-EU citizens, also due to the proximity of the ethnic market. Often groups of young people (Indians, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis) get together to play cricket, a traditional Indian variant of baseball. An activity carried out by these guys in total tranquility. For me it was a finding that was as singular as it was pleasant and testifies, on the one hand, to an integration process that must be supported, and on the other, the need to give them space to practice traditional sports too. Near the Via del Mare stadium there are vast unused areas, the famous “pitches”, which today are mostly unused and covered in weeds. If one visited the city more frequently than only during an election campaign, one would also notice the evolution of the social fabric which today includes large shares of immigrants. And new and real policies of integration and support towards our new fellow citizens could be established in their favor”.
Specifically, according to Poli Bortone, the redevelopment of the Settelacquare area would involve the use of the 48 closed garages which “together with the largest space on the market, could become a center of attraction for the so-called widespread nightlife, which exceeds the boundaries and clichés of the historic center and make the area come alive even in the evening. This means providing for the administration of “food”, as is done in many other markets in Italy, where take-away food or food to be consumed on site in the evening is also sold. Thus, in a natural way, movement and economy are created, as has already been happening for some time in Italian and foreign cities, where catering in the spaces of local markets, often also accompanied by entertainment shows, has changed the functions of what for decades were were only buying and selling points. And that’s what we will also do in the other markets of the city. We will make Lecce a more modern city, with a Euro-Mediterranean character, also resolving the age-old parking situation”, concludes the candidate for Palazzo Carafa.
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