Venice, overloaded with tourists at Easter, is confronting May Day with turnstiles in an experiment with traffic control, sending visitors on alternate routes to major attractions to keep the main ways passable for residents.
As is to be expected, the solution isn’t universally loved; some local leaders in the movement to keep the city from becoming unlivable say that the traffic scheme “a knee-jerk reaction to a crisis and not a solution or long-term answer.”
The mayor imposed the temporary rules calling the 4-day weekend reaching its height today a ‘bollino nero’ or ‘code black’ emergency. Turnstiles were set up at bridges connecting Piazzale Roma, where cars arrive and at Lista de Spagna, opposite the railroad station.
A protest Sunday by local groups against the barriers forcibly removed the gates at one of the checkpoints Sunday, with a sign echoing the frequent complaint that Venice is being turned into an amusement rather than a city, and that the gates make it seem even more so.
