The final design of the tram has been approved (without the participation of the minority councilors in the vote) by the Viability commission e on June 24th it will arrive in the City Council. Another small piece is therefore added to the puzzle that will lead to the construction of one of the largest public works ever built in Brescia.
«The tram summarizes our vision of the city well: Brescia will be more European, green, sustainable and inclusive», underlined the president Francesco Tomasini (Action) at the opening of the session. A vision that however does not entirely convince the oppositionas the councilor (and vice-president of the commission) of Fratelli d’Italia Giovanni Posio explained: «We are not against the development of ecological local public transport, but for us there are some critical issues. With the T2 line, citizens’ choice does not increase, on the contrary Car circulation on main arteries will be limited: we would like everyone to be able to choose to move as they want, without feeling obligated.” Words that found the support of the Fratelli d’Italia group leader Mattia Margaroli, but also of Massimiliano Battagliola (Civica Rolfi), Massimo Tacconi (Lega) and Paolo Fontana (Forza Italia), who in unison highlighted the need for «intervene on traffic entering the city“, according to the centre-right, “a real problem that public transport must deal with”.
This is an issue which, according to the leader of the Democratic Party Roberto Omodei, must however be discussed «in a different way, involving other municipalities and recovering further resources.” Furthermore, for party comrade Filippo Curcio, «i Parking lots on the outskirts of the city already intercept a lot of traffic and allow people to move around Brescia more easily”, while Mirco Biasutti (Pd) specifies: “The tram connects with the center that part of the city still disadvantaged by public transport”.
The minority then expressed concerns about the inconvenience that the construction sites will create in the city, asking the commission whether the costs (also in terms of inconvenience) will be worth the future benefits. Councilor Fabio Capra of the Democratic Party expressed his opinion on this: «We must have the courage to make choices. Even with the metro there were enormous hesitations, but it’s a work that works. The tram is important for the future of our young people.” Councilor Valentina Gastaldi (active Brescia) highlighted the need to «govern a cultural process that distances us from self-centrism and discourages the use of machines». Francesco Catalano of At Work with Brescia also agreed on this point, specifying that “public transport reduces traffic and reduces accidents”.
The deputy mayor Federico Manzoni took care of closing the dispute: «I honestly thought we could get to the Council with a unanimous vote, but I haven’t yet understood what the opposition wants to do. I can assure you that we will not underestimate any aspect and the tram project is a project that we can afford to maintain.”
