Catania – Ferma in Sicilia Clean Cities, a new traveling campaign by Legambiente with the aim of testing the Italian capitals on the issues of mobility and ecological transition. Catania and Palermo failed the test on sustainable mobility proposed by the association: Catania with 73 cars out of 100 inhabitants, has one of the highest motorization rates in the country and, with 8 injured per thousand inhabitants a year due to road accidents, it ranks among the most dangerous cities in Italy.
Palermo has 60 cars per 100 inhabitants, an average below the national one, but among the highest in Europe: between 50 and 100% more than in Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, even worse if we compare the metropolitan city. In addition, the city still has a modest network of cycle paths, and implementation in 2020 appears entirely insufficient. These are the most relevant data that emerged from the “Town Report Cards” drawn up by Legambiente as part of the campaign, which will be symbolically delivered this afternoon to the Municipalities of Catania and Palermo.
Tomorrow afternoon at 6.30 pm, the city report card, a summary of local performances on the main urban indicators relating to cycling, electric mobility, safety and atmospheric pollution, will be presented at a press conference in the presence of Andrea Poggio, Legambiente mobility manager, Salvo Pogliese, Mayor of Catania, Giuseppe Arcidiacono, Councilor for Mobility of the Municipality of Catania, Enrico Trantino, Councilor for Urban Planning of the Municipality of Catania, Fabio Cantarella, Councilor for the Environment of the Municipality of Catania, Barbara Mirabella, Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Catania, Giacomo Bellavia, President of the Metropolitan Transport Company, Luca Blasi, President of the SoStare spa company, Ruggero Moncada, resident of piazza Duca di Genova, Antonio Perdichizzi, entrepreneur of piazza Duca di Genova, Davide Ruffino, Legambiente Catania club, Gianfranco Zanna, president of Legambiente Sicilia, and Giusto Catania , councilor for mobility of the Municipality of Palermo.
The report card of the city of Catania: The data of Legambiente photograph a city that must increase its efforts to reduce the level of pollution, to limit car travel and promote local public transport with zero emissions: The concentration of PM10 in the city of Catania , with an average of 23 micrograms / m3, exceeds the limit value indicated by the World Organization of (20 μg / m3) also in 2020, the year in which the movements have been reduced. There are also 1684 victims on the roads due to accidents in the urban environment, about 8 injured per thousand inhabitants and 15 deaths a year, splashing on the top of the most dangerous cities in Italy.
Positive data arrive for the new subway (urban railway line), much used by students, but inappropriately suspended during the lockdown. The opinion on the offer of local electric public transport, which covers 25% of the city, was weakly positive, but in any case insufficient compared to the 100% envisaged by the 2030 objectives. implementation last year. The streets “30 per hour” are also almost non-existent (only 2 km according to what was declared by the Municipality on the occasion of the Urban Ecosystem, Legambiente dossier), and no idea of perspective. The offer of sharing mobility services does not exist, although perhaps the new fleets of electric scooters will start soon. At year zero, the SUMP of the metropolitan city, which we hope will set stringent decarbonisation objectives (euro 1 petrol and euro 4 diesel block), focusing on fully electric public transport.
“The bad grades in the report card do not take us by surprise”, comments Viola Sorbello, president of Legambiente Catania. “We have long denounced the absence of any sustainable mobility policy. We have also offered collaboration by proposing a participatory table but we have not been answered. We are confident in a new opening of the municipal administration both towards new mobility and towards associations as has happened in other sectors such as urban green, ecology and waste, urban planning “.
The report card of the city of Palermo: Even in Palermo the road towards an ecological transition is long. High health and social costs linked to city pollution (loss of years of life, hospitalization, working days), which amount to 4.1% of GDP per capita, as assessed by a recent European study on pollution commissioned from EPHA to CE Delf. To these costs, in 2020, were added the catastrophic ones of the Covid19 pandemic, and it is known that pollution, like Covid, is a reason for an increase in co-morbidities and a shortening of life expectancy. Although low compared to the national average, the number of victims on the roads, as reported by the Municipality of Palermo, is, in 2019, of 26 deaths and 376 injuries per 100 thousand inhabitants. The level of pollution is higher than in the city of Catania with an average quantity of PM 10 equal to 26 micrograms / m3. The extension of cycle paths is modest (50 km in 2019), but implementation in 2020 is largely insufficient, with only 3.8 km, just above 1% of the target by 2030. Still few areas “20 and 30” per hour “, partially offset by numerous pedestrian areas and ZTL. The supply of electric public transport, which covers only 15% of the metropolitan city, is still insufficient, below the supply of European cities and the needs of a city with a high population density. The offer of mobility, car and bicycle sharing services, although present for years, is in its initial state, such as the sharing of electric scooters recently activated. The challenge for the future lies in the new tramway network, the urban railway and the connection with the minor public transport lines. Furthermore, the SUMP, still in the process of being adapted, should immediately stop the circulation of the highly polluting petrol-fueled euro 1s and move promptly to the euro4 diesel block.