The Emilia-Romagna Regional Administrative Court annulled the provision with which the Municipality of Bologna had introduced the 30 km/h zones, known as Città 30. The appeal was presented by some local taxi drivers, also supported by Fratelli d’Italia, who contested the general adoption of the new speed limits. The ruling annulled the detailed urban traffic plan and the ordinances establishing the 30 km/h zones, while leaving room for any new measures by the Municipality.
The judge noted that the orders were accompanied by generic reasons, without specifying which legal conditions had been considered. The provision affected approximately 70% of the city territory, excluding the possibility of applying limits based on the specific characteristics of individual streets. In essence, the TAR considered that the Municipality had exceeded the limits of its regulatory competence in matters of traffic and road safety.
The push of politics
The ruling comes after the directive from Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, which established that exceptions to the 50 km/h limit should only concern specific and justified sections. The TAR’s decision was welcomed with enthusiasm by right-wing parties, in particular by Fratelli d’Italia. The group leader Galeazzo Bignami defined the cancellation as a confirmation of the illegitimacy of the measure, while Salvini underlined how road safety must be pursued with common sense and not through “ideological” measures.
The benefits for road safety
The Città 30 measure was introduced on 16 January 2024, after an experimental phase that began in 2023. According to municipal data, the reduced limits had produced a 13% drop in total accidents in the first year, with a 50% decrease in deaths and 11% in injuries. Even in the first six months of the second year, the positive trends were confirmed, with decreasing vehicle flows, an increase in cycling and bike sharing, and a reduction in traffic pollution to the lowest levels in the last ten years.
Despite the encouraging data on accidents, however, the TAR’s decision requires the Municipality to review the methods of application of the 30 zones, focusing on individual road sections and specific reasons. Operators in the sector, in particular taxi drivers, have seen their requests recognised, but the city will now have to find a balance that does not penalize road safety.
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