The connection axis between Passeggiata Morin and the railway station, a favorite connection line for cruise passengers and others, is moving towards a series of redevelopment interventions. This morning, in fact, the La Spezia municipal council approved two feasibility studies: one relating to the project which involves the resurfacing of Via Prione between Piazza Ginocchio and Scalinata Sella, for an estimated cost of 700 thousand euros, and the other concerns an extraordinary redevelopment plan for Via Diaz, a road section that had already been a candidate for a restyling in the past. The short road between Viale Italia and Via Chiodo, in fact, has had a pavement and furnishings in a state of abandonment for some time and there has been talk several times about the possibility of an intervention, even with the prospect of pedestrianisation. Over the years, however, Via Diaz was included in the ZTL and parking spaces were reserved for residents, for a solution that does not seem to have many alternatives in terms of parking.
Having also abandoned the hypothesis of the walkway – square suspended on Viale Italia and the proposal for a pedestrian underpass which would have required occupying a good stretch of road, the municipal administration has returned to shining the spotlight on the stretch which is crossed daily by thousands and thousands of tourists moving from Passeggiata Morin, Porto Mirabello and Molo Italia towards the historic center and, for the most part, towards the railway station, from which they depart for the Cinque Terre. The upgrading of the Migliarina station will shift the center of gravity for many buses and many tourists, but for those who travel on foot and for those staying in the city (as well as for people from La Spezia) the redevelopment of Via Diaz remains a positive note.
The pedestrianization proposal for Via Diaz dating back to 2015
The task of drawing up the feasibility study was entrusted to the Green Areas service, considering Via Diaz as “one split line of the historic gardens and at the same time a connection between the city center and the seaside promenade”. “It constitutes a central area that affects not only the roadway, but also the closest portion of the historic gardens, made up of the adjacent pedestrian walkways, starting from the north from Via Domenico Chiodo down to the south at the intersection with Viale Italia. Its visual propensity towards the sea – we read in the Municipality document – thus also drags the pedestrian crossing on Viale Italia in the direction of the Costantino Morin promenade into this study.
The intervention under study aims to “restore the perspective axiality with Via del Prione and the sea quay, through the realignment of the road curbs in a symmetrical position with respect to the existing trees, taking the opportunity to restore the row of plane trees with the planting of new specimens where these have disappeared over time. At the same time, the aim is to improve and make public pedestrian access safer and easier, also in the face of a transit which has become very intense in recent years due to the increase in tourist flows, with a particular attitude towards an “inclusive design approach” which can lead to a “facilitating environment” for people with disabilities”.
From left: the current state of Via Diaz, the project state and the comparison state
The works will be divided into two lots and, since the administration is carrying out the extraordinary maintenance of the infrastructures of the urban water-sewerage network, western area – Por Fesr 2014-2020 which will affect part of the area of the historic gardens and the west side of Via Diaz, the intention is to begin the work on the east side of the road as soon as possible.
Specifically, the movement of the road curb, the removal and storage of the second innermost curb of the pedestrian walkway, the uprooting of two plane trees inclined on the road axis and the restoration of the row by planting 11 plane trees will be implemented. , the leveling and graveling of parts of the existing paths and the surrounding works relating to the repositioning of manhole covers, drains and asphalting.
