Some come home from work at half past nine in the evening only to find they have to leave their car at Parco Laiala. Others lose customers because there’s nowhere to park outside their shop. And some give up on moving into the town centre altogether because they don’t know where they’d park. In Serravalle, the lack of parking spaces is weighing heavily on everyday life, and the Castello council is calling for action that can no longer wait.
“There are serious difficulties for those who live in Serravalle, for local businesses, and for anyone wanting to use the services available in the square and the surrounding area — the bank, the post office — but also for simply getting to school. Unfortunately, over the years, no account has been taken of population growth or of all the needs of a historic centre like Serravalle’s.”
The reports gathered by the council describe a problem that recurs every single day, whether residents are trying to reach a service, do some shopping, or simply get home. “Even local businesses feel the impact in their daily operations, because customers and visitors don’t know where to park. It’s a constant, everyday problem.”
Residents who return home late also bear the brunt. “People have come to our council with their stories, telling us that after work — sometimes after being at the factory until half past nine — they get home and can’t find a parking spot, so they’re forced to leave the car, for example, at Parco Laiala. This isn’t about having to walk a little further: it’s a genuine structural problem for the centre of Serravalle.”
The council also links the parking shortage to the struggles faced by local businesses and to people’s reluctance to live in the historic centre. “The town centre used to be thriving, full of businesses and shops, but now there are more and more empty storefronts. Some residents — and even people from outside who wanted to buy or rent an apartment in the centre — have given up simply because they didn’t know where they’d park their car.”
One proposed solution has been under discussion for more than forty years: an underground car park beneath Parco Dante Alighieri, while keeping the green space on the surface. “There’s a project approved back in 1985 to build an underground car park in the area of Parco Dante Alighieri, with the surface kept as a green area — a park, just as it is now. Forty-one years have passed, and this project has never seen the light of day, despite the many governments that have come and gone in the Republic.”
During talks with the Secretary of State for Territory, other options were also raised. These include using the site of the nursery school in the town centre to build a multi-storey car park. Regarding the condition of the building, the council clarifies: “One option involves demolishing the nursery school in the centre of Serravalle, which, from what we’ve been told, is no longer fit for use and would need to be demolished in any case.”
To determine whether this option is viable, the council is still waiting for answers. “We’re currently waiting for the feasibility study on the nursery school — that is, its demolition and the creation of a multi-storey car park on that site. For now, we’re still waiting for that information.”
The call for action also extends to Dogana, at the border crossing, around the petrol station and in the areas of Piazza Enriquez and Piazza Tini. Here too, the council warns, finding a parking spot is becoming increasingly difficult.
“We are the most populous Castello: on our own, we represent a third of the Republic’s population. These problems are coming to a head because, between informal housing situations and the few young people who still manage to build or rent a home, people find themselves in difficulty simply because there’s nowhere to leave the car. As the Castello council, we are ready to listen to and evaluate any proposal, with no preconditions whatsoever, as long as it involves concrete action capable of solving the problems facing our community.”
