IL TEMA

Since the Piaggio brand debuted with its first Vespa in Rome in 1946, the new medium of transportation started to rapidly gain popularity favored by its low cost and agility when moving through the city’s heavy traffic. In 1952 it became a world phenomenon when Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn climbed into a Vespa next to Gregory Peck in the movie “Roman Holiday” and since then it has become an icon inseparable from the Italian capital. To this day the Motorino is by excellence, the king of Roman streets. Its size and independence allow it to be the vehicle most used by Romans who have adopted the motorized scooter, not just as a way of transportation but as a lifestyle as well. There are many motorized bicycles and scooters on the streets of Rome, a little over 400,000 units that compel their consideration as a collective majority with particular necessities, often overlooked by giving priority to cars as a primary medium of motorized transportation. It was just over a decade ago when Rome started to show its first efforts of bringing order to the city’s chaotic traffic and establishing restrictions that affect motorized scooters. To this day drivers know they must behave as motorized vehicles and not as bicycles, respect traffic signs and pedestrian walkways as to not be penalized with tickets or sanctions. One of the strong point of the reform consists of assigning specific parking zones for this type of vehicle which has historically invaded sidewalks, loading and unloading areas, garage entrances, etc. generating an increasing sense on chaos and disarray within the city. Rome has marked out certain areas with signs on the pavement for the use of parking motorized scooters on the street, however this is far from being a solution because instead of increasing parking zones, these have been restricted and reduced, practically forcing many drivers to infringe regulations when parking their vehicles. The result is a community of motorized scooter drivers discontented with the city’s infrastructure, and a public image of Rome which has not improved, rather it continues to appear as chaotic and stressful as far as traffic flow is concerned.

 

LA SFIDA

For this contest we are going to consider that Rome’s city council has decided to address this issue and create a network of parking areas distributed throughout the city, specifically for motorized scooters; named “Motorino Check Points”. This network of public and free parkings will offer an attractive solution to users of this type of vehicle while simultaneously bringing order to parking in the urban landscape. The strategy is based on generating “park & ride” type stations which are located at connecting points with public transportation, creating a synergy between transportation media.

This competition revolves around resolving the network’s main building; the Motorino Check Point of Termini central station. It will have the capacity to hold 1000 motorized scooters and 250 bicycles. As an annex program it will offer supplementary services such as vehicle washing, a shop for revisions and repairs, and a road safety education center.