The land of Ferrari and Lamborghini has a new speed limit: 30 km/h
When Bologna became the first major Italian city to impose a speed limit of 30 kilometers or 20 miles per hour, Luca Mazzoli, a local taxi driver, placed a sign in his taxi to warn passengers of the change.
He had to, he said recently grumpily, 'explain why I drive so slowly.'
Since the limit came into effect in mid-January, Mr Mazzoli has taken longer to get from point A to point B, he claimed, meaning he has picked up fewer passengers and been stuck in traffic more often.
“A city has to move,” he said.
Critics of the measure say Bologna risks coming to a standstill since it became the first major Italian city to join a growing group of municipalities including Amsterdam; Bilbao, Spain; Brussels; and Lyon, France, which have lowered speed limits from 30 miles per hour to about 30 miles per hour, believing the change will lead to safer, healthier and more livable cities.
Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore has included the new speed limit in the campaign promises that helped him get elected in 2021. Referring to the lower limit, he said: “Driving at 30 is part of a vision for a more democratic and sustainable use of public space,” where neighborhoods put children and the elderly first, and investments favor bike paths and public transportation to work toward carbon neutrality.
Moreover, he added during an interview in his art-filled office at City Hall, Italian cities had been built over centuries and were not suited to an abundance of cars.
There is also the issue of safety. Lower speeds meant fewer deaths, Mr Lepore said, noting that there had been about 60 traffic-related fatalities in the Bologna region in 2022. “Given that, it is difficult to argue that the use of private cars should be unrestricted. ” he said.
But convincing the locals was a bumpy ride. Bologna is the capital of a region that is home to the makers of some of the fastest and most glamorous cars in the world, including Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani.
There have been protests, both on the streets and on social media (memes and stuff), And a petition to hold a referendum on the new speed limit has collected just over 53,000 signatures.
The petition was started by Guendalina Furini, a student at the University of Bologna, who was concerned that her daily commute of 40 kilometers to the city would increase significantly. She said the new limit was “difficult to enforce” and would ultimately deter people from visiting Bologna because the risk of getting a ticket was so high.
“The city stands to lose,” she said.
Other protesters said the real safety risk was having to pay attention to the speed limit on the dashboard, which took their eyes off the road.
“People are very angry,” said Giorgio Gorza, leader of a citizens' group organizing protests. To make matters worse, he added, the enforcement of the speed limit coincided with traffic delays due to construction work on new tram lines around the city, as well as a detour into the center after one of the The distinctive towers of Bologna had to be dropped.
A protest on Tuesday evening brought dozens of grumpy citizens and taxi drivers onto the streets, where they drove at a snail's pace in an impromptu parade, loudly honking and growling traffic. The new speed limit “is impossible” to drive, said Mr. Gorza, an organizer of the protest.
“It's like you're standing still and no one will take the car if you stay still, if it takes longer than walking,” he said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “It's illogical.”
The discontent has been a windfall for the city's center-right opposition, which has turned to protests ahead of June's European Union elections and called for a referendum on the limit on Monday.
The opposition's mocking comments have been amplified by Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party, who called the Bologna border 'pointless'. Last week, Mr Salvini signed a directive challenging a city's right to impose a blanket speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour, arguing, among other things, that restrictions should be decided on a street-by-street basis. Legal experts have debated the weight that the directive could have on a city's decisions, and the dispute could play out in court.
Bologna City Hall responded to the directive by noting in a statement that the speed limits were in line with existing national law. “Our priority is road safety and people's quality of life,” the statement said.
Mr Lepore noted during the interview that the new limit affected only 70 percent of the city, with the remaining roads retaining 50 or 70 kilometers per hour limits. He said the city was open to “corrections” to the speed limit, but not before a period of scrutiny.
According to city hall, only 25 speeding fines were issued in the first two weeks. At this stage, “We are more about informing than fining,” Mr Lepore said.
In 2021, Olbia, Sardinia, became the first Italian city to impose a generous speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour. The first reactions there were also harsh, mayor Settimo Nizzi remembers.
“But it is right for a mayor to think about the quality of life of his citizens,” Mr Nizzi said. For months, officials worked with residents to tout the benefits of a more walkable, bike-friendly city, “to get them used to this new way of life,” he added.
Walking “is so much better for you,” Mr. Nizzi noted, and now people in Olbia are “happier.”
In Bologna there are indications that the limit is already having an effect. According to the city, the number of traffic accidents fell by 21 percent in the first two weeks after the new limit came into effect, compared to the same period last year, which also included one fatality. None of the accidents this year were fatal, according to A city statement issued last week.
Mr Lepore said he was also confident that the positive results of his measure would become apparent soon.
“It won't take long for people to understand that this was the right thing to do,” he said.