I am reading with some regret in these hours the controversies that are arising over the beginning of works of restyling the Naples cycle path. The seafront cycle path is born together with the pedestrianization of via Partenope in 2012, not without controversy. I still remember the protests and sit-ins of that period, the traders of the area, citizens' associations and politicians gathered to put pressure and restore the then status quo.
Those like me who deal with mobilitaà sustainable cannot don't look at the utility of what was perhaps the first act of a project that is slowly, and with the "due" bureaucratic delays unfortunately typical of our latitudes, leading Naples to become a city more sustainable and liveable at least as regards mobility. In recent years the construction sites of some metro stations have been completed, others are in the process of terminate, certainly there is still a lot to do to optimize the "metro system" but we have on the right track, for example it is the Line 2 terminal has been moved to San Giovanni to Teduccio to make it easier for students, workers and researchers to use the new university center (where among other things it is very likely Apple will be established soon).
Returning to the pedestrianization of via Partenope and the cycle path along the seafront, it is under everyone's eyes the great leap forward that the local economy has made in those areas. Along via Partenope we reached gone from walking or eating a pizza between cars to a constant flow of residents and tourists that invades the area every day of the week, restaurateurs have had the opportunity to occupy almost half roadway with tables and gazebos, rent bike services have been created and it is It was possible to have an efficient Bike Sharing service at least until it was once the experimentation is over (I hope that it will soon be active again and the bureaucratic delays that are keeping it at a standstill will be resolved!).
There is those who complain about the fact that the cycle path and pedestrianization of via Partenope have increased traffic jams. I'm just saying that I started using the bus to go to university. for a bet just shortly after the implementation of these interventions; I wanted to see if something had changed or if the only alternative to get to Piazzale Tecchio was always the metro. Well, since then the 151 has been It was my only means of transportation. I could get to university on time. and at the same time make that little journey not in a tunnel 50 meters underground but on the surface, in the open air and for a long stretch even next to the sea (and pass the cliché!).
In election times we return to talking about pedestrian and cycle paths but only with the aim of abolishing them; politicians leverage the bellies of people who probably preferred to stay stuck in rush hour traffic on Via Partenope with the Castel dell'Ovo on the right and the Royal Continental (half empty all year round along with the other hotels!) on the left. There is who even says that the cycle path is unused! It takes courage to say something like this, but next week I hope to prove the detractors of the cycle path wrong by showing some data on the flows of cyclists in Naples and in particular on the cycle path developed starting from the data from the ECC 2015.
In closing, politicians who want to reopen pedestrianized areas in Naples have tried to ask, for example, Gino Sorbillo if he is agree? Or to the other restaurateurs and traders in the affected areas? I don't think that after having invested so much both in their activities, precisely because it is the above interventions have allowed them to do so, we are happy to see cars in double rows again, traffic jams, cars on pavements, absence of tourists and negative reversal of their earnings.