ANCONA In the beginning it was supposed to be a restricted traffic zone. Then she became a Zac. In fact, that of Portonovo it is a passage to rose water, where vigilant, auxiliary of the traffic and employee of the Atlante cooperative do more moral suasion than anything else. But whoever wants to pass, passes. These were not, however, the agreements. Zac doesn’t work, at least in its filter function. If by filter we mean a rigorous measure. Too easy to dribble. Just an excuse. And for the crafty there are no fines, which only arrive for prohibited parking. For the Municipality it is called “flexibility” but the scheme filed together with the resolution establishing the Zac said otherwise.
The system
With full car parks, the descent to the valley should only be allowed to users «with private and booked parks, in access to private properties, in transit without stopping and with disabled permits» writes the Sintagma company, which is taking care of the drafting of the PUMS and the its annexes, including the Zac. Once the public car parks are completed, then, an establishment with a private car park would not be enough to get off (790 parking spaces reserved in the bay) but a space would be needed for each customer evicted from the crowded public parks.
Reality
In reality, however, you just need to say you have a reservation in a place or make up any excuse and you get a pass. In Portonovo we meet Silvetti. “All the car parks downstream are only now starting to be full,” says the mayor. But it’s only 12.30pm on a Sunday in June. And in August? There would be the Pieri park but for the mayor «Mezzavalle is mainly needed». A sign, the only one that indicates the car parks to be honest, would also prove him right if it weren’t the same operators at the gate who divert to the Pieri park those who want to get off in the bay at red lights because the exchange is full. And then: what happened to the database of license plates of those authorized to get off? It’s not there yet. «It will be needed in August» says Silvetti. Best wishes to those who will have to manually check car by car because this is one of the problems: the lack of technology. A QR Code (not an intelligent camera) would be enough to recognize authorized persons and avoid creating traffic jams on the provincial road (as already happens in the case of more punctual checks). The other limits? There is no sanctioning power. Nobody has the authority to stop anyone who wants to cross the gate. Furthermore, communication between upstream and downstream operators must be improved to understand when parking spaces become free. And then, as mentioned, the signage is insufficient: tourists, especially foreign ones, end up getting lost without appropriate indications on where to park and how to take the shuttle.
The political direction
Ultimately: wouldn’t it have been better to activate a restricted traffic zone, with an intelligent camera capable of recognizing the license plates of authorized persons and targeting others, as there is in Sirolo? «We can’t spend public money on something that will only be needed twenty days a year» replies Silvetti. Who points out: «I see another reality than the one described, there is no controversy. There is no traffic in Valle, the Zac is working.” But perhaps it is a question of political will. The question is: do we want to free the bay from the invasion of cars or not? If so, the Zac cannot be, at least as it is structured, the useful tool for achieving the objective. Without forgetting motorbikes and scooters which can pass freely despite the 310 dedicated public spaces. Those who can come on two wheels to bypass the controls, then ending up parking on the side of the road or even in the greenery, with the potential risk of encouraging fires.
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