Attentive, resolute and always present in the area to meet its needs. This is how Cristina Savio appears, president of District 1, a large and complex area of approximately 7 thousand square meters that embraces Quadrilatero Romano and Borgo Nuovo, then passing through Crocetta and San Secondo.
President, let’s start with the issue of safety. Are there problems in your constituency today?
«There are, as in the whole city, but in the opinion of the police here they are less serious. Recently the schools have been hit by various break-ins and at the request of the Prefect we have brought together a security table with police forces and heads of primary and secondary schools in the area. It has emerged that in general our schools are well protected and those who break into them very often just want to withdraw the change accumulated in the vending machines. The shared solution was, therefore, to allow only payments with digital methods in the future.”
Instead Porta Nuova, Piazza Carlo Felice and the porticoes of Via Sacchi?
«These are places that we have always paid attention to. There the situation starts to get worse as the sun goes down, but police checks have been intensified and we have noticed improvements. Under the arcades of Via Sacchi in particular, a greater presence of police would be useful to discourage the transit of bicycles and scooters. In this regard, we asked, with a Council document, for the reintroduction of the neighborhood policeman: an important reference figure with supervisory and accompaniment functions, rather than sanctions”.
Regarding the porticoes of Corso Vittorio (station side), are there any initiatives planned?
«Together with Fondazione Contrada Torino Onlus, last March, we met administrators and owners of the buildings overlooking the porticoes to start a process of cleaning the walls and give new life to the abandoned spaces with the “artist’s noticeboards” project, curated of the Passoni high school”.
Another hot topic is commercial desertification…
«Yes, we have some important structures in a state of abandonment, such as the former Arlecchino cinema in Corso Sommeiller, or under renovation, such as the Rai skyscraper in Via Cernaia. But above all, many small places, once intended for local commerce, which are no longer able to survive, because they have been supplanted by e-commerce and large retailers. These are important issues on which we are collecting data in order to be able to communicate with the City.
Ascom declared that commercial activities dropped by 13% in Turin. At 1, the case of Piazza Cln is highlighted in particular, with empty rooms from numbers 221 to 247…
«It was precisely one of our council documents, already sent to the competent departments, that highlighted the situation in Piazza Cln. Here, rather than a change of intended use, we imagine a turnover of shops that is too fast.”
Moving on to the topic of soft mobility: is there any news on the hypothesis of a second velostation at Porta Susa?
«Here too the topic was posed by a Council document. Given the success recorded in the last year by the Porta Nuova example, we are confident, but it is an important investment and we do not expect short times.”
And where are we at with GTT’s electric minibuses?
«Star line 1 is already operational, while line 2 should be restored at the end of the year. A letter signed by over 200 citizens asked, for the latter, the restoration of the original route from Corso Bolzano. For Star 3, however, we asked for transit through San Secondo, but it is premature to talk about it now.”
What is the future of Piazzale Valdo Fusi, which has been repeatedly reported to the Council as problematic?
«For the moment we have met all the actors active around the square, from the Chamber of Commerce, to the Oz Magazzini, to Vol.To, to the skating companies. We have collected their projects and suggestions to carry out a synthesis work with the Municipality. Some small maintenance interventions have already been carried out by Uno, but for a redesign of the square we are currently in the listening and investigation phase”.
In this regard, what do you think should be the main tasks of the District?
«Being a local body, first of all listen to the citizens, everyone: needs, complaints, appreciations, suggestions… And support and support all the active citizenship networks that develop. Because if it is true that we are European citizens, maintaining a local dimension is very important and nurturing networks of social relationships – not virtual ones – is crucial to living better.”
Turin Public Space is also an example of this, right?
«Yes, a group like Tsp Borgo Nuovo represents a virtuous model of active citizenship, of inclusion of vulnerable groups, such as foreigners who do not speak Italian, for the care of public spaces. We tour all the green areas of the district and have a weekly agenda that can be consulted on both the Tsp and Uno websites. The appointment is every Wednesday from 9.30 to 11. Next week we are at the Clessidra park. You’re all invited”.
