Speed cameras to be installed along canals in Venice
Boats in Venice can travel at 4 miles per hour on the main canals and 3 miles per hour on smaller ones, but these limits are often violated. So local lawmakers have supported a proposal to apply the same laws to the canals that govern the region's roads.
Cameras will be installed along the entire length of the city's waterways. And boat drivers who violate the rules will be fined, The Telegraph reports.
"Venice's roads are lagoon channels, so boat traffic should be controlled more effectively," said deputy Martina Semenzato in an interview with Italian media.
Venice's canals are often overcrowded with ferries, motor boats, boats, barges and gondolas, especially during the summer tourist season. Speed limits are often violated, and a series of fatal incidents on the waterways in recent years have raised concerns for the safety of both tourists and locals.
Ms. Semenzato noted that the changes, which still need final parliamentary approval, will make the city safer and allow for the use of new technologies to catch speeders.
"The amendment introduces a special speed camera, called Barcavelox, to monitor and record the speed of boats and ships plying the city's canals," she said.
It is hoped that the speed limit will also help protect the delicate ecosystem of the lagoon and the architecture of Venice, which are threatened by the "wave motion" created by ships moving in its waters.