Lake Garda Traffic Crisis: Initiatives to Ease Congestion and Parking
Traffic risks suffocating the towns around Lake Garda, turning into a deadly embrace. The problem now appears to have reached critical levels in some areas of the Benacus Riviera. Awareness of the issue is accompanied by initiatives and studies on possible remedies. The problem does not only concern the main roads connecting the area, namely transfers which continue to be a thorn in the side, but also internal roadways within the lakeside towns and parking facilities.
In the upper lake area, landslides and mudslides on the Gardesana threaten to isolate entire villages; meanwhile, in the lower lake area, excessive traffic leads to paralysis. Different strategies are therefore underway, although the idea of shifting traffic from the roads to water transport is gaining ground. However, this is not the only solution. In fact.
Proposals for Traffic and Parking
Sirmione, and especially Desenzano, are studying “different” responses. Many tourists and commuters heading to the Catullus peninsula have become convinced of the futility of spending two hours in traffic on a Sunday just to reach the main street of the Castle, only to find no parking and be forced to turn back. As a result, an increasing number of people are parking their cars in Colombare and walking to the historic center.
For this reason, the Administration aims to acquire a large area near the Colombare cemetery to build a big parking lot and transport tourists and guests to the city center via electric shuttle buses. The situation is more complicated for Desenzano, a destination for many commuters, especially young ones.
Responses under consideration are diversified and very interesting, as reported the other evening during a meeting with merchants and residents, by Orlando Farinelli, the councilor. The situation in Desenzano is indeed very difficult.
In fact, the traffic plan developers have calculated that from Monday to Friday, there are about 4,000 car parkings in 24 hours. These figures rise to 10,000 and can even reach 15,000 in a summer Saturday or Sunday. The parking lots offer 8,000 spaces, but only 2,500 are located in the historic center. What should be done?
“We are evaluating all possible solutions,” explained Farinelli.
Starting with the creation of new parking lots for 1,500 spaces in areas near the city center: south of the railway station and near the cemetery. These parking lots would eventually be connected to the center. But much more is in the pipeline.
Desenzano and Sirmione are considering, also driven by the Lombardy Region, the possibility of creating a large parking area near the exit ramp of Sirmione’s bypass. Tourists heading to the lake would leave their private cars parked there and transfer by boat to Desenzano and Sirmione.
The idea is to activate a transportation line using an electric-powered boat to connect Sirmione to the Zattera harbor, Rivoltella, and then to the port of Desenzano.
From the parking lot, another proposal would offer cycling enthusiasts the opportunity to reach the center of Desenzano on two wheels, using the designated bike lane.
Another hypothesis under study involves transforming all 2,500 parking spaces in the city center into zone blue, allowing residents to park without issues but converting them into metered parking for non-residents. This is a solution particularly favored by councilor Farinelli.
A final decision has not yet been made, but the timeline will be short. The traffic plan has already been presented to the Municipal Commission, and a complete overview of the initiatives should be available soon.
Meanwhile, the mayor and the City Council met with citizens and merchants the other evening. Unsurprisingly, the topics on the table were issues related to mobility and traffic. Felice Anelli reiterated his intention not to permanently close the lakeside promenade.
The Administration has accepted the criticisms expressed following the Mille Miglia Rally held in Desenzano, which resulted in nearly five days of closure of the lakeside promenade. The administration and merchants will meet again to study remedies for future editions.
In the Middle and Upper Garda area, mayors are pressing, even threatening spectacular protests, demanding that Anas complete route 45bis. The issue of the Gardesana road after Limone remains unresolved. The fragility of the mountain looming over the lake and the main road is a sword of Damocles that needs to be eliminated to allow the tourist region, more European than Italy itself, to remain such.