SUSTAINABLE AND CROSS-BORDER MOBILITY: A SHARED URGENCY

by NEVIO COSTANZO

Moving is a daily necessity. We do it to go to work, school, shopping or simply to meet friends. And each time, we choose — or find ourselves choosing — a means of transport. Often, without thinking too much about it, people opt for the private car, even for short distances, sometimes very short. But at what price?

According to the “21st Report on the mobility of Italians”, prepared by ISTAT ISFORT and published in November 2024, most journeys in our country take place within 10 kilometres: 33.7% under 2 km and 42.1% between 2 and 10 km. Despite this, the car remains by far the most used means of transport. On average, each car carries only 1.36 people. Italy, not surprisingly, holds the European record for the number of cars per capita, and Gorizia is perfectly in line with this trend.

The car in the center of the city (and the problem)

The urban space has been shaped to the size of the car. Parking lots, carriageways, lanes: the car takes up everything, even mentally. For each vehicle, at least three or more parking spaces distributed between home, work, shops and leisure places would be needed. Considering that each place requires about 25 square meters, the budget is unsustainable. And the situation worsens in households with more than one car per member.

Electric cars do not solve the problem: although cleaner in terms of exhaust emissions, they take up the same space and still produce particulate matter through the wear of brakes and tires. The evident black marks left on the asphalt by heavy vehicles, for example in Piazza Transalpina/Trg Evrope, show how physically visible the friction is. It is enough to make a proportion to understand that even a light car, in its daily life, leaves a concrete mark.

Free parking, useless traffic and a walk that becomes a “feat”

The affordable accessibility of parking spaces in the city center, when it should be the opposite, pushes many to always look for the most convenient one. This generates parasitic traffic, congestion and pollution. At the same time, walking is discouraged, as if it were an extreme sport. Yet, getting around on foot is the most sustainable, economical and healthy form of mobility. Of course, all this must be distinguished from the needs of people with mobility difficulties, who require dedicated solutions.

Gorizia, Europe and the challenge of cross-border mobility

In a city like Gorizia, a cultural and geographical crossroads, sustainable mobility can only be cross-border as well. We need a shared strategic vision, between Italy and Slovenia, which focuses on:

• An efficient and integrated public transport network;
• Continuous, safe and well-marked cycle paths — as the “Ciclovia della Cultura” could have been;
• A functional bike sharing, also extended to the suburbs;
• Wider, safer and more accessible sidewalks;
• An urban planning oriented towards the “City 30”, which makes the space more human and less automotive.
  
  These measures must be complementary and designed from a holistic perspective, which focuses not on the means, but on the person.

Tariffs, gratuitousness and social justice

To encourage change, it is necessary to make the use of public transport attractive, lowering costs or introducing free admission for students and the over 70s. A frequent objection concerns the elderly: how will they move without a car? But European experience teaches us that, where public transport is efficient, older people use it regularly and with satisfaction.

Green instead of grey: the 3/30/300 rule

Fewer cars means more space for people. The areas occupied by parking lots could be transformed into gardens, play areas, squares, urban gardens. Following the urban planning rule of 3/30/300, each inhabitant should:

• See at least 3 trees from your window;
• Live in a neighborhood with at least 30% tree cover;
• Have a public park no more than 300 meters from the house.

From the role of spectators to that of protagonists

On the subject of sustainable mobility, no one can say they are extraneous. Every daily choice — even just taking the bike or leaving the car in the garage for a day — counts. We can no longer afford to be passive spectators: we must become conscious actors of a necessary change. For our health, for the environment and for the generations to come.