A baggage loaded with inconveniences e disservices per tourists and travellers arriving and departing from Lecce station. Yes, because the hub of the capital of Salento is still “hostage” to the work in progress for the restyling of the square. And the construction site will not stop during the summer. On the contrary.
Starting tomorrow, in fact, the road system around the Lecce railway station will undergo significant changes, destined to continue until November 30th, with inevitable inconveniences for tourists who choose to reach Salento by train. Same package of inefficiencies that travelers and commuters will also have to deal with. The changes envisaged by ordinance, signed in recent days by the commander of the municipal police Donato Zacheo, are part of the works to extend the railway underpass and the arrangement of the area in front of the station. The project involves the occupation of the roadway in via Di Ussano and in the O. Massari square and the bar area of the station.
The action plan
In detail, the area will be delimited by vehicles, equipment, fences and construction site signs until 30 November 2024. During this phase, several temporary changes to road traffic will be implemented in Piazzale O. Massari, a traffic ban and stopping ban will be established on both sides. The sidewalk will be closed to traffic and a protected pedestrian corridor will be established to guarantee access to the train station and post offices, on Viale Oronzo Quarta, traffic and stopping will be prohibited on both lanes between Via Don Bosco and Piazzale Massari. A protected pedestrian corridor will also be established here, finally on Via Di Ussano, there will be a traffic ban and stopping ban on both lanes and the sidewalk will be interrupted, with an alternative pedestrian route guaranteed through the train station. Tourists who reach Lecce by train will have to face quite a few inconveniences. “From Monday, this square will be open, which certainly represents an extraordinary novelty in a neighborhood where very little has always been done, as regards urban decorum, and the hope is that with the opening of this new urban space, an adequate control service has also been provided – hopes Luigia Conte, resident. In Italy, we know what happens in the squares and parks around train stations, the hope is that this new administration has already planned for the next few days, a control and monitoring activity in an area that could be sensitive to say the least”. Access to the station will be complicated by the work in progress, with diverted pedestrian paths and traffic limitations that could cause delays and confusion.
The reactions
The railway station, already considered a critical point for tourism in Lecce, will see further difficulties due to these interventions. Furthermore, the bus and taxi stop areas will be moved, and public transport routes will be changed, «We taxi drivers will be moved in front of the Grand Hotel – says Roberto Guido, taxi driver – the real problem is that the tourist will not find us just outside the station, it is an inconvenience for us that adds to that of the traffic with which we have been living for over a year. The question we all ask ourselves is: why didn’t they wait for the overturning to do these jobs? It’s like doing the house first and then the foundations, they only created problems.”
These works, although necessary to improve the spaces around the station, represent a further obstacle for tourism in Lecce, especially in a period of high tourist influx. The hope is that, once completed, they can contribute to making the train station and the surrounding areas more efficient and welcoming for visitors, improving the overall tourist experience in the baroque capital, but today one certainty remains, those arriving or leaving Lecce by train will be forced to live with some inconvenience.
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