MESSINA – “The City Council approved the Pums of the city of Messina this afternoon, an essential tool for freeing up a large amount of resources for the city. Resources to be allocated to strengthening the public transport system, making city streets safe,
to investing in pedestrian and cycle-mobility interventions. A vote that the Democratic Party expressed with complete freedom, following a coherent political path that sees our party engaged in all the local administrations where it governs in support of sustainable urban mobility planning”. The Dem councilors Felice Calabrò, Antonella Russo and Alessandro Russo voted in favor of the urban sustainable mobility plan and are keen to clarify: “We remain in opposition to the Basile Council but this is a vote that contributes to the liveability of urban centers, to their decongestion and the reduction of emissions harmful to the environment”.
The three councilors continue: “The vote in the chamber does not imply any ‘entry into the majority’ of the Basile administration for the Democratic Party, as has been read in many quarters and very instrumentally for some time in the public debate. The Democratic Party remains firmly in its role as the main opposition group to the Basile junta, as delivered by the voters in the local elections. An intelligent and mature opposition role, which therefore requires knowing how to distinguish between the acts to be decided upon in the City Council, understanding which ones may be of crucial importance for the Messina community and for the livability prospect of the city. We recall four fundamental amendments presented by
our group and approved by the room. Amendments relating to the reduction of the hypothesized extension of the pedestrian area from Viale Europa to Villa Dante, to the limitation of school ZTLs to schools only
primaries, to the monitoring control room of the PUMS to be identified in the City Council, with the contextual and mandatory involvement of the associations of traders, environmentalists and stakeholders and, finally, to the commitment to strengthening the resources to be allocated to works of safety of sidewalks and pedestrian crossings”.
“We improved the PUMs with 4 amendments”
The Democratic Party notes: “Thanks to these four amendments, the PUMS remains first and foremost a fundamental strategic planning tool for the future of the city, thanks to which it will be possible to obtain important economic resources destined for the profound improvement of mobility and public transport in the city in the coming years. ten years. Playing with the fate of the city for the sole purpose of politicizing our responsible and conscious vote in support of this planning instrument appears to be a reckless and reckless move, especially if implemented by the city centre-right which, on the occasion of much more significant resolutions from the point of from a political point of view, there is no lack of opportunity to make your support for the administration felt”.
“The pro-Basile majority no longer exists”
And again: “Moreover, from an exquisitely political point of view, the final numerical data illustrates how even without the Democratic Party the Plan would have passed through the chamber without difficulty, because from a potential 16 votes against, the
the centre-right then finally reached only 11 votes, well below the rejection threshold. At the
In the same way, we cannot help but notice that the majority that should support the Basile administration in the chamber, even on important measures for the city, no longer exists. The council and the mayor, therefore, will have to evaluate how to deal with much more delicate passages in the chamber for the maintenance of the administration, first of all that of the budget estimates. An indirect result of today’s vote that as a group we want to highlight publicly.”
“The center-right today played with the future of the city”
The three councilors continue: “The Democratic Party reiterates its line of intransigence. A position of control and supervision over administrative acts, always centered on concrete issues, dedicated to prosecution
constantly the best interests of the Messina community. We are of the opinion that with the future
we can’t joke about the city and we can’t throw everything into political fuss: it’s a question of
institutional seriousness and political style. It is unfortunate that this aspect exists in today’s political debate
completely missed by the centre-right, although the risk was that it would pay the price
was the entire city of Messina”.
