Salò Announces New Parking Lot Near Sports Field and Urban Reorganization
A parking lot to be built next to the new sports field in Salò, with an entrance beside Ettore Apollonio’s mechanical workshop. This was announced by Mayor Giampiero Cipani, Forza Italia, during the last city council meeting, while examining budget amendments. The council has decided to allocate 1.05 billion euros for the project. The design is by Antonino Alesci, who previously drafted the Put (Urban Traffic Plan). “We intend to reorganize the entire area between the schools and sports facilities,” said Bernardo Berardinelli, Public Works assessor.
Creating, for example, secure entrances for elementary school children (currently exits are located at three different points, and cars often slip through, risking accidents), designating reserved bus parking, rationalizing access spaces to the stadium, securing space for skateboards and rollerblades next to the swimming pool. Additionally, doubling the size of the area in front of the bocce court from 200 to 403 parking spots. Once parked, people will be able to walk along the path bordering the new nursing home, leading them to Piazza Martiri della Libertà, known for its large parking lot and Saturday market.
Changes in Parking Strategies and Future Projects
Compared to a couple of years ago, parking strategies have undergone some changes. The plan to build an underground multi-storey parking lot at the end of the lakeside (a project inherited from the previous center-left administration) has been abandoned, as has the idea proposed by nearby Carmine, utilizing part of the Italian Red Cross land and covering the river. After the flood at the campgrounds in Soverato, Calabria, the Ministry of Public Works issued strict regulations: it is no longer permitted to pave over torrents and watercourses. The opposition from Councilor Vincenzo Zambelli, Ds, has frozen the Leonardo da Vinci project, which the Santo Galeazzi group is closely monitoring, having purchased the former retirement home to convert it into a residence.
Regarding Piazza Martiri della Libertà, there is an intention to build an underground level to double the current parking capacity of 360 spaces. This initiative is part of the recovery plan for the former shoe factory, owned by the Odolini family (Italmark supermarkets), which is now occupied by the Garda Volunteers. As for the underground parking garage in the embankment of the former civic college—an old battleground topic (discussed for at least thirty years)—the Polo has not yet decided how to proceed: it would require seven to eight billion euros, and a lengthy negotiation with ASM ended in nothing.
Not everyone agreed with the decision to build the new parking lot next to the stadium, which already has large auto spaces. “I am frankly stunned. They are paving over the only green strip used by pedestrians! A senseless solution,” exclaimed Zambelli. “But is this such a priority?” asked Mauro Ventura. “Wouldn’t it have been better to create the roundabout between Via Zane and Via Montessori? For those coming from the supermarket, schools, sports facilities, and the social center, the exit would be dangerously unsafe.” Bruno Faustini, leader of the center-right majority group, explained that the project was approved recently by the Urban Planning Commission and that the roundabout will be discussed during the examination of the recovery plan for the former shoe factory.
Zambelli insisted, saying “it is necessary to approve an amendment to the Urban Traffic Plan. Moreover, the area is already equipped; it would be more appropriate to invest in the eastern zone.” The mayor responded, supporting that the parking lot is also needed due to the upcoming closure, at the end of 2002 (for two years), of Piazza Martiri della Libertà following the Odolini intervention. “We will have to temporarily relocate the market stalls and the current 360 parking spaces,” Cipani stated. The minority councilors finally criticized the administration for not presenting the project in the council chamber, only in committee. Giuseppe Iovene, the secretary, said, “It is not mandatory to present it publicly. Nonetheless, it is filed and anyone can see it.”
