Garda Introduces Traffic Changes Ahead of Easter: Impact and Concerns
With Easter, the new tourist season opens along the Garda Riviera. And the Easter crowds in Garda will also test the new traffic arrangement planned in the urban traffic plan.
The first major intervention has already been implemented with the removal of the traffic light between Gardesana and the road to Costermano. A mini roundabout has been installed at the intersection, and another is a few dozen meters away, near the bus station.
This is a real revolution for Garda. The area is crossed by wide strips of porphyry paving that force drivers to lift their foot from the accelerator. Small stone islands have been created in the middle of the roadway. The sidewalk is bordered by a curb.
In short, there are so many obstacles that you are forced to go slower. After all, the idea of the designer, the Turin architect Bruno Gandino, was to reduce the average speed, but also to shorten the crossing time through the town by removing stops at the traffic light.
Indeed, in normal traffic conditions, it seems that the goal is being achieved. However, there is no doubt that the project raises some questions among Garda residents, which need to be checked or clarified “on the spot”.
Concerns about the new traffic system
For example, the traffic islands suddenly appear in front of drivers: one has already been hit by a car, which tore off the road sign. What will happen during busy traffic days, when visibility is even more limited?
Then there’s the issue raised by the mini roundabout that replaced the traffic light. It is quite large and appears almost excessively offset from the intersection point of the road: making a turn around it requires a fairly sharp steering maneuver.
Furthermore, those coming from Bardolino and heading towards Torri del Benaco, near the end of the turn, find themselves skimming the small wall on the side of the Garda road, which at this point might need to be partially demolished.
The outgoing mayor of Garda, Giorgio Comencini, told us he contacted the project management to verify the correct placement of the mini roundabout, but the designer confirmed that everything is fine.
It is also true that the mini roundabout was designed to allow larger vehicles to pass over it partially (the stones are only slightly raised above the roadway), but many wonder whether this may make crossing the intersection more problematic.
In any case, all that stonework in the middle of the road causes significant tire wear—very profitable for tire shops. Anyway, as mentioned, the validity of these initial concerns will be tested at the first opportunity, and Easter will undoubtedly be the real test for Garda’s new traffic system.
Will people breathe a sigh of relief or risk chaos? For now, it remains a fact that during regular traffic days, driving is indeed slower, but crossing the town takes less time. This is exactly as architect Gandino intended.
