When Bologna became the first major Italian city to impose a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour, or 20 miles per hour, local taxi driver Luca Mazzoli posted a sign in his taxi warning passengers of the change.
The other day, he said glumly, “I had to explain why I was driving so slowly.”
Since the restrictions went into effect in mid-January, Mazzoli claimed it has taken longer to get from point A to point B, he has carried fewer passengers and he has been stuck in traffic more often. .
“Cities have to move,” he said.
Critics of the move say Bologna risks being stuck in limbo as it becomes the first major Italian city to join a growing group of municipalities that includes Amsterdam. Bilbao, Spain. Brussels; Lyon, France, has lowered its speed limit from 50 kilometers per hour to around 30 miles per hour, believing the change will lead to a safer, healthier and more livable city.
Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore included new speed limits in the campaign promise that helped him get elected in 2021. “Driving at age 30 is part of a vision of more democratic and sustainable use,” he said, referring to the lower limit. Securing public space means that neighborhoods put children and seniors first, and investments in bike paths and public transportation are prioritized to move toward carbon neutrality.
Moreover, he added during an interview in his office in the art-filled City Hall, Italian cities have been built over centuries and are not suitable for an excess of cars.
There are also safety issues. Lepore pointed out that in 2022 there were around 60 traffic-related fatalities in the Bologna metropolitan area, and said lower speeds reduced the number of fatalities. ” He said.
However, convincing local residents was extremely difficult. Bologna is the capital of the region, home to some of the world’s fastest and most attractive car manufacturers, including Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani.
Protests took place both on the streets and on social media (including memes), with a petition calling for a referendum on new speed limits gathering over 53,000 signatures.
The petition was started by University of Bologna student Gendalina Furini, who was concerned that her daily 45-mile commute into the city would be significantly increased. She said the new restrictions would be “difficult to maintain” and would ultimately deter people from visiting Bologna as the risk of getting a ticket was too high.
“The city risks losing money,” she said.
Other protesters said the real safety risk was having to pay attention to the speed limit on the dashboard, which meant not looking at the road.
“People are very angry,” said Giorgio Golza, head of a civil society organization organizing the protests. To make matters worse, the enforcement of speed limits coincided with traffic delays due to construction work on new tram lines across the city and detours in downtown, where one of Bologna’s signature towers had to be closed. he added.
Tuesday night’s protests saw dozens of cranky citizens and taxi drivers take to the streets, honking loudly and snarling traffic as they drove at a snail’s pace in a makeshift parade. Ta. Protest organizer Golza said the new speed limit would make driving “impossible.”
“It’s like standing still,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. “If you want to stay still, but it takes longer than walking, no one is going to get in a car.” “That’s illogical.”
The dissatisfaction has given the city’s center-right opposition parties a boost, plunging into protests ahead of June’s European Union elections, and on Monday calling for a referendum on the restrictions.
Opposition backlash was amplified by Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right Alliance party, who said Bologna’s restrictions were “senseless”. Last week, Salvini signed a directive challenging the city’s right to impose a uniform 30 km/h limit, arguing that limits should be determined on a street-by-street basis. Legal experts are debating how the directive could affect the city’s decision, and the dispute could end up in court.
In response to the directive, Bologna City Hall said in a statement that the speed limit complies with current national law. “Our priority is road safety and people’s quality of life,” it said in a statement.
Lepore pointed out in an interview that only 70% of the city will be affected by the new restrictions, with the rest of the roads remaining under 50 or 70 km/h speed limits. He said the city is willing to “correct” the speed limit, but not until the monitoring period begins.
According to City Hall, only 25 speeding tickets were issued in the first two weeks. At this stage, Lepore said, “we’re more focused on providing information than issuing fines.”
In 2021, Olbia on the island of Sardinia became the first Italian city to set a broad speed limit of 30 km/h. There, too, the initial reaction was harsh, recalls Mayor Settimo Nizzi.
“But the mayor is right to think about the quality of life for his citizens,” Nizzi said. He added that authorities had been working with residents for months to extol the benefits of a more walkable, bike-friendly city “to get residents used to this new way of life.”
Walking is “very good for the body,” Nizzi said, adding that people in Olbia are now “happier.”
In Bologna, there are signs that the restrictions are already having an impact. According to the city, traffic accidents, including fatalities, were down 21% in the first two weeks after the new regulations took effect compared to the same period last year. There have been no fatal accidents this year, according to a city statement released last week.
Lepore also said he was confident that the positive results of his measures would soon become apparent.
“It won’t take long for people to realize it was the right choice,” he says.