Local Committees Oppose Road Expansion Threatening Agriculture and Environment
Not only Vivabas supports the opposition to the Tiso solution for connecting to the Adige riverbank stake. There is also Ivo Bertamini with his committee for sustainable development to contest “the stretch from the regional landfill to the junctions with the valley roads.”
This solution, besides being detrimental from a landscape perspective (it disfigures the cultivated olive coast under Maza) and environmental standpoint (it jeopardizes the creation of the river park along the Sarca banks), has a highly negative impact on the agricultural landscape, affecting valuable land both in the Pratosaiano area and in S. Giorgio.” To support the impression of scant attention to the agricultural sector, the committee cites the treatment reserved for the farm roads, “which, especially those in the countryside between Arco and Riva, are now used as shortcuts for cars and often for trucks. And the few prohibitions are regularly ignored.”
Status of the farm roads and associated risks
The roads, originally 3 meters wide, have doubled their width at the expense of the surrounding countryside to allow frequent crossing of vehicles and heavy machinery. A notable case is via Crosetta, transformed into the shortest car connection between Romarzollo and the shopping centers of via S. Caterina. But also, just to give a few examples, via Cavallo, via Narzelle, via Sabbioni suffer from invasion by vehicles.
All this causes inconvenience to agricultural vehicles, which should be the primary users, and damages to neighboring farms. It also creates dangerous situations for those who want to walk away from traffic or for cyclists moving safely by bike, as cycling lanes are still a dream.
The farm roads in Pratosaiano, on the other hand, suffer from neglect. Frequent potholes indicate a lack of maintenance, endangering the safety of agricultural vehicles and their loads.
State of maintenance and safety of infrastructure
It should also be noted that many of the overpasses over watercourses along the farm roads have not undergone proper testing: the risks of failure are evident for those not built to withstand significant loads.
In light of these considerations, we request that the farm roads return to their original function of allowing access for agricultural machinery to the fields, drastically limiting their use for other motorized vehicles, and that they are properly maintained to ensure user safety.
We believe that a way can and must be found to design new roads — which are necessary (such as bypass roads) — in a manner that respects the environment and landscape and protects agricultural areas.
We think that the proposal we put forward (a short tunnel to the landfill, a descent along Maza, and then the Vignole branch in an artificial tunnel) meets these requirements. However, we must note, upon reading the publication “Il Trentino”, that the Province persistently insists on repeating its solution, regardless of the strong opposition expressed by various citizens’ committees.”