«The construction site? We worked harder during the Covid period." The traders' opinion on the effects of the work underway for the redevelopment of Viale Trieste is all in the words of Italo Sulliotti, historic owner of the sweet and liqueur shop of the same name. The first lot from Piazza del Carmine to Via XXIX Novembre has been completed. Late. And according to those who pass by or work there, the result is not optimal: sidewalks that are too narrow, parking that doesn't work and businesses that are compromised. Now the workers are intervening on the next stretch, up to Via Pola. They started in mid-March and are expected to finish in June. But the situation is the same: slow work and traders on their knees. Due to the blocking of traffic and the total absence of parking spaces.
The construction site is transforming the avenue from a "commercial to a residential area", adds Sulliotti, who has seen his activity caged for a long time. Now those fences have been removed. But he can't rejoice: "Destructive work," he says, "no parking spaces for customers and sidewalks built for walking dogs." Consequence: «Earnings reduced by 50%». And according to the trader, not even the pandemic had done this damage: "Some businesses that had resisted the virus have already closed."
An employee of the Mauro Acciai Inossidabili hardware store, a short distance away, is of the same opinion: «Businesses that have been open for over forty years risk going to ruin. The municipal council didn't worry about the problem", he claims, "and those in charge didn't give us any certainty either about the start or the end of the works".
Among the entrepreneurs who work in that street there is a unanimous belief: the Municipality, which started the works, has not given answers for the difficult moment. Several attempts at dialogue, it is the accusation, were rejected by the administration.
«The passage is eliminated, we are penalized by the chaos and the inconceivable working hours», accuses Titty Boi from Bar Millenium, «the construction site must be closed as soon as possible. The workers finish work at 4pm. It's not enough: we need to proceed faster for the sake of workers and passers-by."
"A nightmare, I drove around half of Cagliari to find parking and buy some nails," says a middle-aged man heading towards the hardware store at the crossroads of Via Pola. Things are no better for those who travel by bus. A testimony comes from a mother who was returning from school with her child: "The bus was stuck in Via Pola for almost an hour," she complains. Because when the balance is precarious, a single grain is enough to make the whole system jam. And this time it seems there was a badly parked car.
Lorenzo Musu