Garda Campgrounds Protest Parking, Roadwork Disrupts Tourism
Campgrounds are on the warpath. On Tuesday, a protest letter signed by the managers of Continental, La Rocca and Serenella, open-air accommodations facing the lake between Bardolino and Garda, was officially filed at the Comune and circulated in recent days. They are furious about the disorderly parking of campers throughout the municipal territory. In particular, representatives of the three non-hotel accommodation areas are pointing fingers at the Serenella parking lot: “A large number of campers,” the letter states, “are parking within the municipal territory and, despite being in contradiction with the traffic code, the camping law, and health regulations, continue undisturbed to camp wherever they please without intervention from the enforcement authorities.” Furthermore, the “campers unload wherever they can, including into the lake, polluting it.”
Disruptions caused by walkway works
What further upset the campground managers was the decision by the municipal administration to proceed with paving works on the Rivalunga promenade. The works are now paused and scheduled to resume next week after Easter, which sees Garda fully booked. The affected section, from the nautical dock to the Garda border, caused inconvenience at the La Rocca campground on Monday and Tuesday: guests at the facility found access to the promenade blocked.
“The ongoing construction has jeopardized the reputation of all the frontage tenants,” the managers of the three campgrounds stated in their letter. The mayor Armando Ferrari promptly responded, pointing out that camper parking at Serenella is permitted from 8 a.m. to midnight, according to regulations. Overnight, parking is strictly prohibited.
The parking lot, along with those at Santa Cristina (79 spots) and Riva Palafitte in Cisano (92 spots), has been entrusted by the Comune to the company Ati di Spoleto for the next three years. The agreement brings in 105 million and 500 thousand lire annually to the city’s coffers. “Only from today (yesterday for those reading) have the parking areas been handed over to the company, and thus the previous situation was due to improper use of an unattended area,” the mayor explains.
He continues: “Of course, it is the responsibility of the police to ensure that campers do not remain inside the Serenella parking lot after midnight.” Issues regarding the disposal of chemical toilets used by campers remain on the table, as the parking area lacks adequate waste disposal facilities, aside from a standard bathroom.
Likewise, Bardolino does not have dedicated public areas for campers. In the past, there was one in the area opposite the cemetery, but it was thankfully eliminated due to clear incompatibility with the respect owed to the site. Regarding the walkway works, the mayor and Aristide Avanzini, the deputy mayor, defend the decision to start construction, even close to the holidays. In fact,
“Some shopkeepers expressed positive opinions about our actions,” says Ferrari. “Unfortunately, bad weather conditions prevented us from starting earlier,” adds Avanzini. “Let’s not forget that the type of cement binder used must be laid on perfectly dry ground. Anyway, the inconveniences were limited to just two days, and the completion of the walkway, including finishing touches, will be done after Easter. Moreover, in the already prepared section from last season, a special treatment will be applied with a compaction product also used at airports, which will eliminate the old problems related to dust.”
