Monza – Arrival blanket air monitoring in five zones of the city with intelligent control units. As part of the project Smart cities towards the digital transition (total cost 40 million euros for a 19-year contract), which includes lighting, pedestrian crossings and smart benches, there is also the monitoring of air quality in real time.
This is a contract awarded to Afive, in collaboration with A2A. Therefore, in recent days, five control units are being installed which are configured as boxes measuring 20 by 20 by 10 centimeters thick, to be secured to the street lamps and which detect the temperature, air humidity, atmospheric pressure and particulate matter. (Pm1, Pm2.5, and Pm 10) every half hour. There are therefore 47 measurements per day, through solar panel sensors (therefore not energy-intensive) which power a battery (with an average life of 10 years) and send the data to a special platform which will allow municipal administrators to evaluate the measures of adequate local government.
«For example – he anticipates councilor Giada Turato – the closure of the center to traffic”. During the installation yesterday morning in Largo Mazzini you could smell the strong smell of exhaust gas which makes the air heavy and unbreathable in one of the main squares of the city. According to studies by the department of traffic conditions, also supported by reports from neighborhood committees, the other strategic areas where to place the detection control units are via Adda at the intersection with via Mameli, at the corner of via Lecco-Cantore-Libertà, at the Cavallotti-Pellettier intersection and Taccona-Baradello.
“This project – underlines mobility councilor Giada Turato – is part of a broader project ecological and digital transition path of the citytowards one sustainable mobility. The sensors for data collection on the platform will allow us to make targeted choices and verify the impact of the strategies already in place”. Among the various sensor systems, one relating to parking spaces will also be introduced, to allow citizens to know the availability of parking in real time and avoiding driving around for half an hour, adding pollutants to those already present, the stimulus to the administration came from the citizens, dissatisfied with the few findings from the fixed control units positioned by Arpa (Environment Agency) alone. in Largo Mazzini, in the Park (near the former Rai headquarters) and in Via Machiavelli, near the school.
«Already in 2020 – he recalls Cruciano Nasca, promoter of the Clean Air Committee – we installed a system of mobile control units (the data of which were validated by an international company) which in the midst of the pandemic had detected the “gas chambers” of the city, not only in Largo Mazzini, but also in via Cavallotti, via Prina and via Taccona-viale Lombardia. We repeated the survey in 2023, with traffic reactivated, confirming the same values. In fact, nitrogen dioxide is also emitted by domestic stoves, heating, heavy vehicles and public transport.”
