The important news arrives directly from the Facebook channel of Pierfrancesco Maran: while waiting for the project for Piazzale Loreto, works are starting in Via Padova from via Giacosa to via Arici, for a total redevelopment of the road which will see an increase in spaces for bicycles and pedestrians, and a reduction in the speed of cars with mixed speed to 30 kilometers per hour to make the transit of bicycles in areas where there is no cycle path safer. An increase in safety is also accompanied by an increase in green space, as new trees will be planted along the route.
The total investment is 3 million euros, half of which comes from the Pact for Milan, signed at the time of the Renzi government. An important figure, but necessary to improve the livability of the area, which really needs redevelopment. The area will thus be used to “connect the neighborhoods it crosses, and which does not divide them”, in the words of the councilor for mobility of the municipality of Milan Marco Granelli. The idea behind the project is to make Via Padova an area where people can live, and businesses can flourish.
All within what will be called “Zone 30“, and which will be very extensive: from piazzale Loreto to the Adriano and Crescenzago districts to the north. Bus number 56 will pass along the entire route, to ensure the possibility of moving even to those who do not have a car or those who do not want to use it. Among the important innovations also a series of changes to mobility, such as the one-way street in via Esterle towards via Padova, and in via Cambini towards Palmanova, in order to increase the parking spaces and the green area.
When will the works begin?
The day to be marked on the calendar is Monday 19 April, the date on which the construction site will start at the intersection of Via Padova and Via Anacreonte, where the plans are for the construction of the tree-lined parking. From there, one phase after another, with the ambitious – but declared – goal of completing the works by June 2022.
The list of works
By that date, the entire Via Padova, over 2 kilometers long, will be brought back to life. The list of works including to be exact:
- 230 new trees, including magnolias, greek arbutus and ginko biloba; when it is not possible to plant them, large planters will be used
- widening of the sidewalks, completely redone in granite cubes
- 8 areas refurbished and transformed into small squares, enriched with greenery and benches to sit and socialize
- 22 crossroads rearranged and adapted to safety
- 35 raised pedestrian crossings
- expansion of the pedestrian area of via Prinetti, to make it safer to cross the road for the entrance of students of the Caravaggio Art High School, and to increase the area of entry and exit from the school building
The Boulevard Tunnel
But that’s not all: of the redevelopment of Via Padova, the most important project is perhaps that of the Tunnel Boulevard, the underpass of the railway bridge that will be transformed into an art gallery thanks to the support of the Cariplo Foundation. The Tunnel, at the intersection with Via Pontano, will be the result of a project that will be selected from the “Open Squares” call. On the bridge, the writing “Viapadovamondo” will stand out, representing the slogan of this redevelopment, symbol of the new rebirth of the neighborhood. According to the promoters of the work, in fact, the Tunnel Boulevard in via Pontano will be a project of “identity regeneration”
Active participation at the center of the project
Absolute novelty as regards redevelopment interventions of this type, is the active participation of citizens, in what is called participatory budgeting in jargon, an integration strategy between municipal administration and residents in which the latter choose which interventions to carry out. in their neighborhoods.
