Pedestrian-only zones, Roman style

Some views of pedestrian-only zones, Roman style. Piazza Lovatelli in the Ghetto, outside the headquarters of the Rome's superintendency of cultural heritage (who had no comment.) Alcuni imagini delle belle zone pedonali di Rome, invasi da automobili.  Piazza Lovatelli, sede della Sovraintendenza ai Beni Culturali di Roma Capitale, il quale non ha voluto commentare. (compare with the photo on their site)

Piazza della Scale, Trastevere

Largo San Rocco(?) in front of Ara Pacis

Piazza Fontanella Borghese

Keeping this blog alive

  

I've been concentrating my writing efforts on other venues and almost forgot I even had this blog.  But I thought I'd give Blogger a chance again and use it, as the title says, to rant about what doesn't work in Rome.  

I actually read a number of Italian blogs such as Roma Fa Schifo, Cartellonopoli and Degrado Esquilino which are even more intolerant than I am but sometimes the only thing to do is take a picture and put it out there in the world for all to see.  What has Rome become? 

Shortly after taking the picture above I was almost run down by a truck who insisted that I get my bike out of the way so he could drive into the clearly labelled pedestrian zone (which as you can see is already filled with cars).  The one on the right is also pretty clear and I see no reason to hide the license plate or face of the man parking his Audi illegally.  As usual, in the background the horrible public parking area is taken over by cinema but this doesn't mean people are free to leave their cars in the middle of the road. 

Piazza della Stazione Quattro Venti

My neighborhood has recome enriched in recent years by the opening of a new train station, Stazione Quattro Venti.  It's not especially useful for transportation, the trains which pass every 20 minutes going not to the center but to other outlying areas already served by buses. And the building is downright hideous, a thoughtless 80s box of scaleless bricks and tinted glass, lacking any relation the neighborhood, its function as a node, or its natural environment.  

What it does offer, though, is a paved public space with no cars.  Testament to the importance of such spaces in a city is the popularity, especially with young kids on skateboards, bikes, and roller skates. A necessary sloped walkway and a few other steps and ramps provide enough interest, and a continuous concrete bench provides a place for elders to sit.  My 6-year-old son provides me ample time to observe the place and how it is used at different times of day and seasons.  Every age group is present, not to mention dogs, cats and a rabbit, but the youngest humans  seem to take precedence. Most users seem to come on foot of bicycle from the neighborhood.  There is minimal traffic coming and going to and from the station every twenty minutes but these users rarely linger.  

There is no commerce at the station; a newsstand and gas station across the busy street are the closest places to spend money.  You also have to cross the street to the nearest water fountain. What limited vegetation there is is on the edge where existing large trees survive and on an artificial hill covered with barely surviving grass and shrubs. 

All told, the place is sad but effective. A little more effort in the design phase, including the participation of the community, could have produced superior results for the same cost and probably sooner.  A more beautiful, more sustainably-built station.  Shady zones with different options for seating.  A water fountain. Simpler lighting (what is there now seems aimed at allowing huge nighttime soccer games when more discrete path lighting would have sufficed and saved energy).  Finally, some sort of barrier to the street to keep balls and children from mixing with the high speed traffic, and to keep cars and scooters from entering the square which does happen occasionally.   Today a number of cars were parked in the pedestrian zone of the square, encroaching on the play area, but the police ticketed them immediately when called. Clearly eyes are fixed on this square, aimed at making it a success for the neighborhood.

city police out of funds

I read the other day that the vigili urbani are staying home because the city ran out of money to pay them. While this is probably just a ploy to improve work conditions, perhaps justifiably, it occured to me that it defies economic logic. If the vigili were out doing their job fining cars for traffic violations of which we all know there are thousands at any given moment, the city's coffers would be overflowing with more than enough funds to pay the police adequately, improve public transit, build new schools, clean up the city, etc.

Come usare i soldi dei manifesti abusivi

In giro ci sono migliai di manifesti elettorale abusivi che noi a Roma vediamo ogni giorno. La legge prevede una multa di Euro 400 ciascun manifesto e quindi la citta' di Roma dovrebbe incassare vari milioni di Euro a breve. Come intende spenderli?

Here are some ideas:
hire new neighborhood vigili to prevent the problem of illegal advertising from recurring.
buy more buses
restore the city's schools
buy art for the new MAXXI museum
build housing

I haven't yet been able to track down an email address for the President of my neighborhood (no links available on the official city website!) so I'm posting the letter here.

From: tom@romanculture.org
Subject: viale dei quattro venti
Date: May 13, 2006 1:54:06 GMT+02:00
To: fabio.bellini@comune.roma.it

Caro dott. Bellini,

Ho letto con piacere delle intenzioni di imbellire Viale dei Quattro Venti dopo l'inaugurazione della stazione ferroviaria. Abito in questa via da due anni e scrivo un blog sui problemi di viabilita' e decoro urbano della zona [http://rankinsromerants.blogspot.com/]. Osservo quotidianamente la situazione di questa grande strada e mi impegno con frequenti chiamate e fax ai vigili per risolvere i seguenti piccoli problemi:
-macchine in doppia e tripla fila
-macchine parcheggiate agli incroci
-macchine parcheggiate alle fermate degli autobus
-macchine parcheggiate sui marciapiedi
-macchine parcheggia nei posti motorini
-motorini parcheggiate sui marciapiedi

Come vedi, tutti questi punti sopra hanno da fare con conducenti di autoveicoli e motorini. Basterebbe un vigili che fa una passeggiata (a piede) ogni giorno con il blocchetto di multe. Gli incassi di una settimana potrebbe pagare lo stipendio di un vigile per un anno. In due anni ho visto vigili in questa strada solo un paio di volte!

Ovviamente bisogna anche migliorare il trasporto pubblico, garantendo attese di massimo 10 minuti per arrivare al centro. No capisco la difficolta' che ha l'ATAC a mettere in funzione un orario preciso di partenze, ma ancora non esiste.

E' chiaro che non bastano i parcheggi per tutte le macchine della zona, ma la soluzione deve essere di ridurre le macchine, non aumentare i parcheggi. Risolta la carenza degli autobus, la gente del quartiere non avra' piu' la scusa di dovere usare la macchina per i piccoli spostamenti. E sono convinto che quando diventa veramente costoso e non solo maleducato lasciare la macchina sulle strisce pedonale la gente comminciera' a preferire altri mezzi. Io personalmente ho venduto la mia macchina e sto molto meglio senza!

Un saluto,


Tom Rankin

Improving Transportation (and not only) in Monteverde

Here are some simple proposals which would make Monteverde Vecchio a more liveable neighborhood. Many have to do with automobiles and the damage they have done and continue to do to our cites, but others are more generally about public space and civic behavior.
Via Carini isn't really too far from the centro storico of Rome but getting there can be an oddysey.
On foot: The walk down the steps to Via Garibaldi can be pleasant but it is not short. By Porta San Pancrazio it means risking ones life crossing traffic, walking in the middle of the street past illegally parked cars. If you walk down Via Dandolo to catch the tram even the sidewalk has been taken over by cars now.
By bike: it's a nice ride down the hill, but getting up is another story.
By public transportation: The wait for the 75/44/or 870 can last close to an hour, far more than the time needed to reach the center on foot. What's worse, there is no schedule to help you decide whether or not to wait. The routes themselves are long and slow, The 870 regularly gets stuck at the Bambin Gesu' due to autos parked illegally everywhere within 250 meters of the hospital. The others get stuck on entering Viale Trastevere or crossing the Lungotevere when the intersection becomes clogged with cars ignoring the red lights. Finally, the routes are quite limited, requiring a change to the tram (not even at the same stop) and subsequent wait to get to Largo Argentina, the Pantheon, or anywhere near Piazza Navona.
By car: perhaps the easiest option, it is no slower than the bus once you are aboard but without the uncertain wait, discomfort and restricted route. As long as parking is cheap in the blue zone and tolerated almost everywhere else use of private cars is encouraged.
By scooter. Hands down the easiest, if not safest or cleanest, way to get to the center and back. But not for everyone, children and elderly for example.

Without recourse to major public works like escalators or funiculars, great improvement would be possible by acting simultaneously on two fronts: penalizing private traffic and improving public transit.
a. Penalizing use of the private auto. It would be enough to actually enforce laws on the books, fining and towing cars parked illegally or blocking traffic crossings. The incentive to use one's car would disappear overnight as its cost skyrocketed.
b. Respect the schedules of the existing bus routes first of all, and post them clearly. Then gradually increase their frequency and rationalize the routes. The 75 should start at Largo Oriani with a real capolinea, connected by stairway to Stazione Quattro Venti below. The 870 and 44 just need to run on reasonable, reliable schedules.
c. Some new ideas to consider. Italo Insolera suggests an electric minibus that would cruise the neighborhood and make stops at Villa Pamphillj. This could connect Trastevere with the Villa too. A "scala mobile" from Fratelli Bandiera to Piazza Ippolito Nievo would make the 8 tram much more accessible. Another bus could take Via delle Fornaci, connecting Monteverde to St. Pietro, and then take Corso Vittorio to Largo Argentina.

Whatever routes are designed, they should not be dictated by the problems of congestion caused by traffic outside the school. Rather that traffic must be penalized, encouraging parents to walk with their kids or use the bus to get to school.
Actually, a city-sponsored school bus would make most sense. Rather than facilitating traffic outside schools and at major intersections as they do during rush hour, the municipal police should relentlessly fine drivers for violations, be they double parking, parking at bus stops, going through red lights and blocking intersections. The results: more money for the city in the short term and greater respect for the law and fluidity of traffic in the long term.