Venice and water traffic, operators say: “Accidents are around the corner”
Time out: for extreme problems, extreme remedies. This latter comes from the complaint sent to the Port Authority, so that it might intervene and bring “order” to the unsustainable water traffic at Venice, that threatens likely accidents, if provisions are not made for its reorganization.
The alarm arrived from the Commandant of the ACTV Motorboats Nevio Oselladore, who does not exclude an appeal to the Procura, if they ignore the claims of the ACTV workers committee and the Security Committee, which have brought together members of the Municipality, motorboat pilots and gondoliers, to confirm the worry based on the excessive and disorganized traffic, above all in the Bacino San Marco and San Zaccaria, that puts people’s lives at risk. In 2014 the City issued two ordinances to regulate the traffic of gondolas and limit their number, but these rules have never been respected.
Moorings are a security risk, at times following a slalom between gondolas and boats, the coming and going of motorboats, creating what the committee has called an “emergency”. The Port Authority is responsible for regulating navigation on its waters and the Municipality has written to the City to take action on this problem which involves the entire city, now, including Rio di Cannaregio which in recent times has experienced overcrowding.
The appeal to the Authority specifies: “Until two years ago the gondolas which exited from Rio del Vin which then entered Bacino San Marco, were mainly those from the Danieli station, about 30 and very few from the Molo station. And they already presented a risk of collision with the public transportation docked at Danieli and Jolanda, because at times the gondoliers would enter the bacino without respecting precedent. For two years also the almost 40 gondoliers of the Molo station have started forming “caravans” to exit the Rio, modifying their work routes. This has notably increased the risk of accidents and collisions”.
With summer at the door, the enormous number of tourists, visitors who use the public transportation, taxis, or who want to take a panoramic “tour” in a gondola and “you want” some courageous Venetian who rows the oar in the Lagoon, they are for quality and quantity incompatible with safe traffic, without risk and inconveniences for those coming and those going, at docks and jetties, and on Actv and Alilaguna vehicles.
Commandant Nevio Osseladore along with many others who are fighting for a solution to this not secondary Venetian problem, hopes for a collaborative response between Port Authority and City, one that calls for a complete revision of the rules of navigation, which must arise from the participation of all the parties who work on the Lagoon waters.
Source: La Voce di Venezia 4-17-2017
Campaign For A Living Venice 