Roman citizens are helping police deal with crazy parking.
Less parked, more abandoned. Parking Roman-style Image: jojof |
The legendary creativity of Italian parking has met its match through social media.
Citizens in Rome can now report illegally parked cars using a dedicated police Twitter account, @PLRomaCapitale. The police are able to respond more quickly, often in just a few hours and that is long enough for many motorists abandoning their cars for a day's work.
Rome has one of the most car-dense populations with over half its citizens using private transport. Added to that the narrow cobbled streets and the propensity to double park and you've got a serious congestion problem.
The local authorities are clamping down on conjestion in an effort to reclaim the streets around some of the city's oldest and most famous landmarks. Last year all traffic other than buses and bikes were banned from the roads around the Colliseum.