Riva Traffic Officer’s Departure Eases Parking, Residents Rejoice

It is often said that newspapers only publish bad news. Perhaps it’s true, but today’s news is one of those that people eagerly await and that, when it arrives, makes everyone breathe a sigh of relief: the day after tomorrow, the urban traffic officer who over the past ten days has issued hundreds of fines everywhere will leave Riva to return to the Polizia Municipale di Pescara. Overstated? Not at all. The climate of terror that has developed recently among motorists is such that the departure of this officer undoubtedly represents a ‘happy news’ for many.

Starting Monday, in short, parking in the city center will once again be ‘only’ a difficult task, no longer a terrible and costly nightmare. Mind you, it’s not that the Abruzzo traffic police — thanks to a series of reliable exchanges between police forces — do things outside the norm (literally). The incredible fiscal rigor with which he performs his duties has, however, led the residents of Riva to interpret his behavior as absolutely persecutory.

For days now, even briefly abandoning the car to get a coffee at a bar or buy bread has become an action only the most daring Arsenio Lupin-like license plate holders can afford. Just a single, very brief moment of inattention during purchases or exceeding the allowed parking time by two minutes and, as if by magic, the fine notice appears under the windshield wiper.

Motorists’ reactions and shop situation

This situation has prompted many angry drivers to call our editorial office to report, often quite colorfully, the conduct of the efficient traffic officer. “People come in,” reveals an employee of a shop on Viale Dante, “but they are not relaxed. Some customers are even frightened and very impatient, constantly looking on the street and repeatedly urging us to pack their orders faster.”

But the plague does not only affect shop customers. Among sales clerks and shop owners, the “destined victim” syndrome has now spread. They, too, like everyone affected, never stop looking around furtively, cast worried glances toward the area where they parked their cars, and constantly check the clock.

Therefore, a phone call to the Polizia Municipale Command on Viale delle Magnolie is obligatory, but the officials of the force are absent. The commander and deputy commander are on vacation (a case?) and whoever answers the phone seems to already know the topic of the call in advance and appears to be unhappy about it. Come Sunday, it will all end for them as well.