Amid new measures Monday
extending a ban on vehicles and even scooters from more streets
in Rome's historic centre, Mayor Ignazio Marino mused about next
making the Circus Maximus and the Palatine hill pedestrian-only.
While good news for pedestrians and tourists, as well as
cyclists, the latest extended traffic ban from what the city
called "the living room of Rome" around the Piazza del Popolo
outraged many motorists cut off from parking spots and access to
the centre.
Extra police were on patrol issuing warnings of future
80-euro fines for drivers and motorcyclists breaching the ban in
the area of the three major 'Trident' zone streets stretching
from Piazza del Popolo: Via di Ripetta, Via del Corso, and Via
del Babuino.
Traffic is banned weekdays from 6:30 a.m. local time until
7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time with
police enforcing the zone until January, when automatic gates
are to be installed.
Rome's city officials in a statement said the extended
traffic ban should help to create a more "livable" space for
residents and visitors by reducing traffic.
"Rome is enriched by an important area of multiple
vocations: historical, cultural and commercial center," said the
statement on the municipal website.
"Starting from Piazza del Popolo - the 'living room of
Rome' - the three streets that fan out: Babuino, Corso, and
Ripetta, and all adjacent streets, with the entry into force of
the (pedestrian zone), create new livability for area residents,
for citizens, and tourists," it added.
The latest move comes after Rome's city council agreed last
year to strict limits on traffic along the Via dei Fori
Imperiali, connecting the iconic Colosseum with Piazza Venezia
and running through the Roman Forum.
That also caused protest and controversy but Marino, an
avid cyclist, has pressed ahead with plans to ban cars in
additional parts of the historic centre.
The next logical step, he hinted Monday, would be including
the Palatine hill that looms over the Roman Forum, and the
Circus Maximus, where ancient stadium used for horse and chariot
races.
Scooter drivers protested Sunday at Piazza Augusto
Imperatore, near the Ara Pacis on the Tiber river, while other
drivers said they don't know how they will get to work, since
they cannot afford monthly parking fees.
The permanent ban extends a pedestrian zone put in place in
August affecting about 15 small streets around Rome's popular
Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna, a move which tourists have
hailed as "wonderful" and "marvelous".
Said one tourist: "In Rome, which is an open-air museum, it
should not be otherwise".
Public transportation will still be permitted in the new
pedestrian zone as well as night workers, residents with special
permits and drivers with handicapped access.
The city of Rome has previously said that closing the area
to vehicles will help to restore the image of the area to that
depicted in the popular 1953 film 'Roman Holiday', starring
Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.
Parts of the film were shot around the Spanish Steps.
The city said the new pedestrian zones are based on earlier
plans dating back a dozen years when small sections of some
streets in the area were closed to traffic.
That plan had the ultimate objective of someday seeing more
of Rome's historic centre, especially streets with monuments and
important structures, more fitting of a UNESCO World Heritage
Site.
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