ANCONA Zac, an end to traffic jams at the bay. From onomatopoeia to the implementation of the measure it took little. The Silvetti administration rejoiced last July at the debut of the controlled access zone in Portonovo. Last year the mayor and deputy immediately put their hands forward: “An experiment, we will understand how to calibrate it to propose it again next year in an official capacity.” It worked like this: at the roundabout upstream, the Municipality had instructed the local police to carry out a sort of filter, trying to discourage motorists from venturing downwards, when the traffic lights in the car parks were bright red.
The origins
At the beginning it also gave the desired results. But then the user got smart. Having realized that the police were not exercising an iron fist, the most varied and imaginative excuses began: “I have an insured parking space in that place or the other one”, “I have to go to lunch in that restaurant or the other one”, “I’ll take my wife and go back up” and so on. The fact is that already last year, in the subsequent Zac experiments, the loose measures of the municipal resolution did not produce the announced effect. In the sense: the actual passage was never introduced. It was a test, it was repeated until exhaustion. A test that would then be developed the following year.
Debut 2024
A year to think about all the necessary corrective measures. Weekend of 1st and 2nd June: Zac makes its debut again in Portonovo. Something has changed, it’s true. This year, not only the local police are carrying out the upstream control, but also the traffic auxiliaries and an operator from the Atlante Cooperative. On average a team of four-five people. The number of people who should operate a filter increases, but the effect is the same as in 2023: everyone passes. “I have an umbrella in that establishment” and off again with the most disparate excuses. Everything like before. So what went wrong? Simple, the implementation of corrective measures. Already last year there was talk of the need to equip itself with a license plate reading system to give the green light only to those authorized to get off, even in full public car parks. Instrument never entered into force.
The obstacles
The theme resurfaced again at the beginning of the season. We are past the middle of June, in less than a month we will enter the high season, if the attitude continues to be that of simple moral suasion, we will end up returning even to pre-Zac levels. The operators upstream cannot communicate in any way with their colleagues at the car parks. There are no two-way radios, which would help greatly to facilitate the work by guaranteeing the flow of information in real time. These are the two main obstacles – it is worth saying – on which the good rule of the Zac breaks down. Which would not betray its nature of controlled access if it only performed the role for which it was created: that of a filter. But to this there are also other aspects, perhaps minor, but which in the overall set of critical issues take on a value that is not exactly irrelevant. Such as, for example, special signs indicating the presence of the two exchanger car parks upstream: Pieri and the one at the foot of the shuttle terminus. How does a tourist, especially a foreign one, realize that there are exchange parks? Mystery. Likewise, the shuttle bus service is not indicated. In short, even the promise of corrective measures was disregarded. At least until now. From July the Zac will be active every day. Hopefully, at this point, also with the license plate check. Otherwise, as it is, it is of no use.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Read the full article at
Adriatic Courier
