Salò Plans Underground Parking and Redevelopment Projects to Improve Mobility
After ensuring that paving works in piazza Vittoria will commence in September, which will subsequently be pedestrianized, resulting in the loss of 50 parking spaces, the mayor of Salò, Giampiero Cipani, explained where the new parking areas have been identified. The largest, underground, is expected to be built in the Martiri della Libertà square, where the Saturday market takes place. The ex calzaturificio del Garda, facing the square, is owned by the Odolini family (Italmark), who have long made it available to the Volontari del Garda, led by Gianfranco Rodella. “I was told that in the past, recovery projects had never been submitted due to lack of interlocutors” – the mayor stated. “We invited the Odolini family to come forward and present their ideas. In the coming days, we will evaluate them. The building will be renovated, and beneath the square, a parking lot with one thousand spaces will be created. The exit would be on via Zane – via Montessori, which would also allow us to address that dangerous stretch”. “Another 350 spaces will be made available through the garage in via Brunati” – the mayor continued. “We intend to restart by the end of the year”.
Mobility and redevelopment plans and projects
The plan (Pir) put on the table by Riccardo Marchioro had a long gestation. It envisaged the recovery of the elementary schools (during 1943-45, under Benito Mussolini’s Italian Social Republic, which housed the Stefani agency), the kindergarten, and the former civic college by building apartments, shops, public offices, etc. However, after a lengthy ordeal, it was rejected by the Tar. Now it is being proposed again, only for the part concerning the embankment of the former sports field.
There is also the underground parking in the very central piazza Leonardo da Vinci, beneath the residential complex located opposite the Fossa and the hospital. Last November, the City Council decided to grant in surface rights the subsoil to building companies, cooperatives, or companies through a competitive tender process. The tender notice and draft agreement were also approved. A commission would select the best offer, assigning points based on the number of parking spaces (minimum 80, of which 50 are rotating), the tariffs applied (which would not exceed 20% above current rates, currently 2000 lire per hour), the technical value of the work, the aesthetic and environmental quality of the external arrangement and furnishing of the square, the completion times, and the duration of the concession (not exceeding 90 years, after which the structure becomes municipal).
Subsequently, the winning company would have to prepare the executive project, sign a three-billion-lira insurance policy to cover possible damages, and carry out the construction works. All properly regulated? Not quite. “The procedure” – explained Cipani – “was halted following intervention by the Inspection Service of the Public Works Authority in Rome, prompted by opposition councilor Vincenzo Zambelli”.
This latter appealed citing non-compliance with regulations, arguing that “they grant parking lots to be marketed and managed on a paid and rotating basis, with profits going to the concessionaire, whereas the law provides for surface rights concession of public areas, but not for profit.” “In case of selling the parking spots, at the end of the concession, it would not be possible to transfer the works completed to the municipality”; the tender does not include any reference to the economic-financial plan of the intervention; the clauses of Merloni bis and ter are not respected; finally, “the presence of the assessor on the commission is illegitimate”. This led to the temporary stop.
“Make no mistake”
– added the mayor – “we will not stop. If we cannot use the tender process, we will resort to other solutions. For example, the creation of a municipal company involving a specialized firm”.
Finally, the redevelopment of piazza Carmine, which will add 25 parking spaces (discussed yesterday), will be carried out as well.