Cagliari, Via Roma. Stories of ordinary pedestrian adventures in a city that is doing everything it can to encourage people to leave their cars at home or, at least, far from the historic center . Those lucky enough to find parking in the port area (limited spaces, construction in progress) or disembarking from a ship have only one option to walk to Via Roma: the pedestrian crossing in front of the ARST depot, controlled by a traffic light. A red light for pedestrians lasts 1 minute and 40 seconds . If you follow the rules, you must reach Piazza Matteotti via the pedestrian crossing, fixed—and barely legible—about forty meters ahead. Many cut short, risking being hit by a bus, especially at night: the lighting in the area is embarrassing.
After crossing Piazza Matteotti, to head towards the Largo, there's another pedestrian crossing near the Town Hall. The wait for the light to turn green is 60 seconds . If the direction is Piazza Yenne, our pedestrian simply has to cross the street and reach their destination, but that's their own business. If, however, their destination is the porticoes of Via Roma, there's another traffic light, obviously not synchronized with the previous one. The wait is one minute.
The port and Via Roma are about twenty meters apart as the crow flies. While waiting for the city administration to decide how to manage pedestrian crossings along the port, pedestrians are being given zero consideration . Anyone who crosses Via Roma does so at their own risk and should be fined. But it's absurd that the city administration continues to look the other way, leaving residents and tourists at the mercy of a solution that—in light of the highway code—is ridiculous.
(Unioneoline)
