The City Council has approved five repaving projects in five specific locations in the city of Monza, identified by Legambiente Monza in collaboration with the municipal offices for the environment, urban decor, greenery, roads and mobility.
Objective: remove concrete in favor of greenery. It happens in Monza
The set of interventions aims to eliminate concrete and return to green some areas of the roadway that, although they are little used because they are excluded from vehicle transit and parking, contribute to the increase in soil temperature because they are concreted.
It starts with the project in via Molise
The interventions concern sections of via Molise, via Santuario delle Grazie Vecchie; via Libertà; via Lucania; via Borgazzi.
Legambiente Monza will be responsible for the expenses, the executive planning and the assignment of the works, which will start with the intervention at Molise Street – funded by a Legambiente Lombardia Call – as a pilot phase of the project. Subsequently, Legambiente Monza declared that it also wanted to proceed with the execution of the remaining four interventions after finding the necessary resources. The project relating to the Via Libertà area, specifically, will be included among the participatory co-design actions within the project “Monza & CO – Green and blu transition”, the Climate Transition Strategy led by the Municipality of Monza and which may be financed by Fondazione Cariplo up to a maximum amount of 2 million euros.
Green “pockets” in asphalt areas
The intervention of via Molise aims to reduce the asphalt surface (about 50-60 square meters) by creating different “pockets” within the existing asphalt area. Each of these “pockets” will host native trees, shrubs and ground cover plants, forming a canopy layer of tall trees, a shrub layer and a ground cover. The remaining part of the asphalt area will be colored with acrylic paints and enriched with street furniture to create a point of reference within this large green area currently underused.
To carry out the intervention, a first phase is planned in which a company will demolish and dispose of the asphalt surface. In a second phase, volunteers and botanists within the Legambiente association will be involved in planting plants and shrubs.
“These depaving works – is the comment of the Councillor for the Environment Jade Turato – will allow us to obtain environmental benefits in our city, because they will allow us to reduce heat islands thanks to the conversion of asphalt surfaces into green spaces, contributing to biodiversity and at the same time increasing permeable areas to counteract flooding caused by rain, with benefits for aquifers and reduction of hydraulic invariance”.
Subsequent works
On Liberty Street the area marked by white stripes and not intended for vehicle transit will be partially depaved and partially transformed into an urban platform dominated by the newsstand kiosk, which will find a new use. The project for the new urban space includes the reduction of the size of the lanes, thus preventing wild parking.
In the street of the old Graces the goal is to pave with a new draining soil the area at the intersection with via Annoni, not intended for vehicular traffic, leaving a convenient passage for any rescue operations. In this way, a kerb is created for access to the sidewalk that currently does not exist and pedestrian traffic is optimized. The project includes the installation of a shelter at the bus stop and the introduction of a slide in the kerb of the sidewalk to overcome the existing step on which the pedestrian crossing ends. The plants introduced are suitable for living in environments characterized by poor water availability, and this will allow the creation of green flowerbeds without the aid of irrigation systems.
On Lucania Street the aim is to depave the raised area, currently asphalted and not intended for traffic. Its transformation into a “raingarden”, a garden designed to collect rainwater, could promote sustainable drainage along via Lucania.
In Borgazzi Street, finally, a modification of the design of the cycle path is planned with the introduction of a hump between the cycle lane and the vehicular lane, creating a flowerbed that makes the path safe for bikes by better connecting the area with the surrounding open agricultural space.
“A nice challenge”
“We are very happy – he says Anna of the Kingpresident of the Legambiente Alexander Langer Club of Monza – that our depaving project has been approved and appreciated. We believe that change can also begin with small interventions. And we would like all citizens to be an active part, especially in the planting phase, in the painting and street furniture phase. It will be a great challenge for a small club like ours, but we count on the trust and support of the Municipality, of Legambiente Lombardia and of the entire city”.
