Between kingfishers and abandoned waste:in Bologna park idea to protect the Navile

A manifesto signed by 2,000 people proposes it and the Municipality supports it:"It's a common good of the city"

BOLOGNA – For the protection and relaunch of Navile canal of Bologna we need the establishment of a park body, so as to coordinate the various institutional subjects that have to do with the management of water, green areas and buildings:the idea conveyed by manifesto "The Navile canal we want", drawn up by a group of citizens and signed so far by around 2,000 people, meanwhile finds the support of the Bologna administration both at the municipal council and district level.

THE OBJECTIVE:HARMONIZE RECOVERY AND SAFEGUARD INITIATIVES

In addition to the capital municipality, the appeal contained in the manifesto is also addressed to the metropolitan city, the Emilia-Romagna Region and the administrations of Castel Maggiore, Bentivoglio, San Giorgio di Piano and Malassociazione to encourage a connection between the bodies involved in the management of the channel:the regional water authority (responsible for the riverbed, the maneuvering bodies and the flow of water);the civil engineering office of the state property (owner of the buildings and land);the coastal municipalities;the Bologna Canal Consortium (responsible for water supply). “The park authority could be the institution that synthesizes and harmonizes recovery and protection initiatives,” states Federico Bellotti, one of the promoters of the manifesto, at a press conference, while his 'colleague' Mauro Tolomelli explains it like this:the goal is “get those five or six who always say it's the other's fault to agree”.Because the Navile canal, underline the signatories of the appeal, deserves a metropolitan project that is capable of enhancing all its aspects:from environmental to historical ones, from tourist ones to those linked to sustainable mobility.

IN ONE YEAR 30 BIKES FISHED OUT BY VOLUNTEERS

After all, just to name one, the Navile gives the possibility of "seeing a kingfisher three kilometers from the Two Towers", underlines Tolomelli.In the face of this, however, the list of problems is currently long.Starting from spills (a blue patch was reported today on the Terraioli bridge) and the abandonment of waste given that, Tolomelli reports, volunteers find everything:recently also an armored wardrobe, a maxi Smurf toy and various mattresses.For bicycles, then, the race takes place:in 2023, out of 30 recovered, bike sharing won over traditional bikes by 19 to 11.And then there are the syringes:“Only yesterday under the Carracci bridge we recovered 140,” says the volunteer.But many more actions would be needed, Tolomelli points out:for example new benches, elimination of architectural barriers and redevelopment of locks, because seeing them deteriorate "is a slap in the face to our history".

THE COUNCILOR'S OK:“THE CANAL IS A COMMON ASSETS OF THE CITY”

The manifesto for the relaunch of the canal deserves "real political support", declares the president of the Navile, Federica Mazzoni:its contents fully fall within the administration's Green Footprint project and therefore "we welcome this initiative which starts from the citizens".From Palazzo D'Accursio "we are absolutely available to favor a project that simplifies the management of the canal, which does not belong to the Municipality but is a common good of the city", states the councilor for Water Networks, Daniele Ara: “We need to encourage unified management, because today there are too many different bodies that deal with it”.Proceeding along this path will require "very complex work", warns city councilor Claudio Mazzanti, but the park "is the best thing to put all the actors who have expertise on the canal around a table".