Chaos and traffic jams on the island's roads, amid construction sites, diversions, and a rush for gifts. Getting around, both in the capital and Sardinia's main cities, is becoming nearly impossible and takes biblical amounts of time. And relying on public transportation isn't always the best solution.
In Cagliari, the three main roads leading into the city—Viale Monastir, the incinerator road, and Viale Marconi—are the stations of the Via Crucis for motorists arriving from the hinterland and neighboring towns. During rush hour, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., a breakdown, a collision, or any other unforeseen event is enough to turn the day into a hellish trap from which escape is difficult. The numbers are alarming: every day, 180,000 cars enter the capital, in addition to the 130,000 residents. It's easy to understand that 310,000 vehicles on the city's streets is a huge number.
The former state highway 131, the stretch of road that—in the Sestu area—runs from the junction with the 131 dir and ends just after the entrance to the Corte del Sole, is also a challenging obstacle course : long queues, slowdowns, and potential hazards are the order of the day. Once a fully-fledged suburban road, it has, however, transformed over the years into one of the main commercial arteries of the Cagliari area and is now comparable to an urban road. This is also true in terms of traffic jams, given that countless moments of the day are spent walking at a walking pace, especially at roundabouts.
In Nuoro, traffic jams begin to form on Via Segni in the early morning. The most critical points are on Via Don Bosco, where supermarkets, department stores, and shops attract hundreds of people looking for Christmas deals. Traffic in this area is particularly sensitive: yesterday, a 69-year-old pedestrian was hit in a crosswalk.
In Oristano, the most critical point remains Via Tirso. Here, especially in the evening, the flow of traffic becomes a bottleneck with little escape: queues stretch all the way to Piazza Roma and Via Mazzini.
Getting stuck between one intersection and another thus becomes almost a daily ritual, with waiting times that far exceed the normal tolerance of motorists.
