30 kilometres per hour becomes the new normal, covering 70% of the roads in the built-up area and 90% of those in the part of the city most densely lived in by its people
In November 2022, Bologna launched the ‘Bologna Città 30’ plan, lowering the speed limit to 30 km/h on many streets to improve safety. Despite the controversy, from 16 January 2024 penalties will apply to those who exceed this limit. The change mainly affects central and densely populated areas, with a few exceptions at 50 km/h. Fines vary according to how far the limit is exceeded, with a tolerance of 5 km/h. The plan includes checks with speed cameras and laser speed guns, aiming for zero road deaths, improved public health and the promotion of sustainable mobility.
It was November 2022 when the city council of Bologna approved the guidelines for the implementation of the ‘Bologna Città 30’ plan, aimed at improving road safety. A little over a year has passed, and the administration, despite a heated debate and much controversy surrounding the plan, has no intention of backing down. On the contrary: 16 January 2024 will be a momentous date on the path towards the full implementation of the project. From that day, in fact, penalties will apply to all vehicles exceeding the speed limits in the urban area. It will be a small revolution, because the maximum speed limit on all urban roads in Bologna goes from 50 to 30 kilometres per hour, with the exception of the main through roads, where it will remain at 50 kilometres per hour.
In practice, 30 kilometres per hour becomes the new normal, covering 70% of the roads in the built-up area and 90% of those in the part of the city most densely lived in by its people, compared with the current 30%. No small change, then.
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Let us first look at the main roads where the 30 limit will apply. In Bologna, 30% of city streets already have a 30 limit. The big novelty is the so-called radial roads: via Mazzini, via Murri, via Saragozza, via di Corticella, via Massarenti, via Andrea Costa and via Saffi will have a 30 limit. The 50 limit remains on all the ring road avenues; on the so-called ‘stradoni’, such as viale Togliatti, viale Gandhi, via Colombo, via Gnudi, via degli Ortolani, via del Lazzaretto, via del Terrapieno, via del Triumvirato, via Don Sturzo, via Due Madonne, via Ferrarese (on its outermost stretch), via Firenze, via Carracci (only on the uninhabited stretch between via Carracci and via Manzi), via Saragat, via Gagarin, via Marco Polo, via Gobetti, via Po, via Nenni, via Prati di Caprara, via Sabotino, via San Donato, via Stalingrado, viale Aldo Moro, via Toscana (from via Foscherara onwards), via Tolmino, viale Carducci and viale Lenin.
Let us now turn to the penalties for those who do not respect the 30 kilometres per hour limit. For those exceeding the limit by up to ten kilometres per hour, the fine is from €42 to €173. For those exceeding it by more than 10 km/h but no more than 40 km/h, the fine is from €173 to €694 and three points are deducted from the driving licence. For those exceeding it by up to 60 km/h, fines range from €543 to €2,170, with six points lost and the licence suspended for one to three months. Those exceeding the limit by more than 60 km/h risk fines from €845 to €3,382, a licence suspension of 6 to 12 months and the loss of 10 licence points. The tolerance threshold is the one set by law, namely five kilometres per hour. The fine will inexorably apply from 36 kilometres per hour. It should be remembered that the limit also applies to bicycles, scooters and e-scooters.
The checks. These will be carried out with speed cameras, that is, fixed systems, on roads with a 50 limit, and with laser speed guns, that is, mobile checking systems used by patrols, on roads with a 30 limit; they must be signalled in advance by signs.
The administration has stated that it will provide further details on their location and number in the coming days.
It should be pointed out, however, that in the historic centre, because of the limits set by law, most of the streets are not suited to checks with laser speed guns.
To help with this ‘transition’ towards the new road rules, the Bologna administration has set up a web page, Bologna Città 30: https://www.bolognacitta30.it which clearly and effectively illustrates the principles underlying the ‘philosophy’ of the Città 30, the experience already gained in Italy and abroad (above all in some large European cities, such as Paris) and the ways in which it will be implemented. It is useful to list the long series of objectives and benefits that the promoters of the Città 30 link to the plan. The speed limit will bring (or rather, should bring):
zero road deaths
safeguarding citizens’ health
smoother traffic
promotion of sustainable mobility
higher quality and better usability of public space
new green and pedestrian areas
protected spaces in front of schools
implementation of the road and pavement maintenance programme
The debate, as has been said, is open and is expected to remain heated. But from 16 January, Bologna gets serious: at last we will be able to see the concrete results, in the coming months and years.
