De Simone meets some merchants: “Collapsed takings and risk of closures: discussion with the associations is needed”
“The situation is desperate. This morning I visited some artisan and commercial businesses in Via Villanova and the square, having been contacted by the businesses, and I must say that there is a lot of concern: the scenario, following the experimentation relating to the roundabout on Strada Cassia Nord at the intersection with the cemetery, it is highly critical.” The provincial secretary of Confartigianato Imprese di Viterbo, Andrea De Simone, comments this morning on this morning’s meeting with some companies in the area affected by the road testing launched last June 3 by the Municipality of Viterbo.
“From those small entrepreneurs, mostly fathers and mothers whose lives revolve entirely around their activities, a real cry of pain arose – continues De Simone -. In fact, since the beginning of the experiment, takings have decreased drastically, because there is a material lack of customers, both those passing through and those who, despite wanting to, find it difficult to reach Villanova due to the closure of the access from the roundabout”.
“If this arrangement of vehicular traffic is destined to become structural, the risk is that many shutters will be permanently lowered in the neighborhood – explains the secretary of Confartigianato Viterbo -. Furthermore, this is a complicated period for artisan and commercial businesses, there are employees’ fourteenths to pay and tax deadlines. If we combine mortgage installments and utilities, which certainly don’t wait for experiments, we realize the difficulties of these small entrepreneurs. Many of which, let us be clear, are at risk of closure if takings continue to nosedive. A loss not only in economic terms, but also in social terms, because those businesses, made up of people, also offer an essential local service for the community.”
“We understand the need of the Frontini Administration to want to find, even through temporary experiments, a definitive solution to the critical issues of traffic in that area – concludes De Simone -, but, regardless of the results relating to traffic, every decision cannot ignore keeping a vision of commercial urban planning is also taken into consideration. This is why we ask that the experiment, whose data should have already been collected from a traffic point of view, ends as soon as possible. We also hope that SME trade associations, as has happened for other issues, can be involved in the decision-making processes before definitive and structural choices are made in the Municipality. The economic stability of an entire neighborhood is at stake, the survival of many families and the fate of workers and users.”
 on the Villanova roundabout: “Desperate situation for traders, Municipality terms experimentation”){kind=link}