Sand, seaweed, construction sites: the village in a sea of doubts

The questions about the summer season in Mondello are not limited to the management of the beaches. Open construction sites and disposal of posidonia could slow down the recovery of the seaside village. The first issue concerns the completion of the redevelopment works in the square, which include new paving, restoration of the fountain, renewal of urban furniture and greenery, and which are unlikely to be finished before the summer.

For months, local businesses have been complaining about reduced visibility and limited working space due to the construction site. Just a few days ago, l'Antico chiosco, a historic establishment active for over a hundred years, closed its doors, leaving about ten employees in temporary layoff. Among the reasons for the crisis could be the drop in revenue due to the restrictions from the works in the square. Yet, to assist restaurateurs and merchants, the promised aid from regional councilor for Productive Activities Edy Tamajo was supposed to arrive with a budget amendment that has, however, been rejected twice.

Another front that could make the bathing season in Mondello difficult is the work to create the drainage channels and retention basins in Sferracavallo and Mondello. A few days ago, the Structure for the contrast of hydrogeological instability, which reports to the president of the Region Renato Schifani, published a tender worth 1.1 million euros for the executive design of works necessary to put an end to the frequent flooding of the two districts. The deadline for submitting bids will be April 17, and it is likely that the design will start immediately afterward. The works will aim to mitigate the risk of flooding by collecting water through drainage channels up to the northwestern collector, thus preventing rainwater from interfering with the underlying sewer system, so that the flow occurs only on the surface.

Finally, there is the issue of posidonia, the endemic marine plant of great environmental importance that our sea is full of, which has washed up on our shores in extraordinary quantities after the passage of cyclone Harry. Yesterday morning along the seafront, operators from Rap and Coime began the work of removing residual sand from sidewalks and roadways, in addition to the extraordinary cleaning of the drains, but posidonia is a special waste that must be disposed of through a rather complex procedure and with not very quick technical times. The municipal department for the Environment had allocated a budget for removal and had given - awaiting an intervention from the Region initially estimated at least 600,000 euros in the hours following the fury of cyclone Harry - the formal authorization to proceed to Rap, which in turn will have to entrust an external company with the operations of removal, transport, and disposal.