Re-use of the old railway in the Western Liguria and Integrated Coastal Zone Management
Gianni Gaggero, Laura Levi
Regione Liguria (I)
Abstract
The project for the "Riuso del sedime ferroviario
dismesso" (Recovering of the vacant railway site) involves eight municipalities
crossed by a railway no longer in use since September 2001, within a comprehensive
programme for the conversion of the territory, named "PRUSST del Ponente
Ligure" (Programme for the Urban Recovering and the Sustainable Development
of the Territory of the West Liguria). Since the beginning of 1999, the "Piano
Territoriale di Coordinamento della Costa" (Territorial Plan for the Coordination
of Coastal Areas) outlined the discarding of the the railway as a strategic
opportunity for the urban and environmental recovering of the West Liguria territory.
The PRUSST has been the tool to implement the following strategy:
· To transform a physical obstacle to the seaside into a 24 Km long green
ribbon including pedestrian and cycle paths and tracks for ecological vehicles
· To keep the organic development of the route, while enabling it to
include new paths, crossing sites and the possibility to access to the sea,
foreseeing the creation of 4 new beaches
· Starting from this new axis, to build up a wider framework for the
conversion of the territory, including public and private initiatives for the
relaunching of tourism.
The employed methodology has envisaged:
· The participation of the local administrations in the definition of
the programme
· The public funding of the most important plans
· The establishment of a company - AREA 24 S.p.A. for the purchasing
of the vacant railway areas.
Moreover, an ad hoc planning tool has been worked out, for the approval of all
changes in the town and territorial planning necessary to ensure the actual
feasibility of the interventions.
Since December 2003, the ownership of the vacant railway areas has changed,
from the Ferrovie Real Estate (F.R.E. s.p.a.) to Area 24 and to the Municipality
of Sanremo, as regards the properties within the municipal boundaries.
In 2005, the works are expected to start for the construction of the first 8
km of cycle path, mostly overlooking the seaside.