Work to improve safety at the intersection of Via Nomentana and Via Zara began on the morning of Tuesday, February 7. The mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, was in attendance; along with the Capitoline Councillor for Mobility, Eugenio Patanè, and the President of the II Municipality, Francesca Del Bello. The intervention between Via Nomentana and Via Zara is part of the first batch of works at some of the most dangerous and accident-prone intersections already identified by the Capitoline Administration throughout the city.

A total of 175 interventions will be carried out (75 of them by the Jubilee). Specifically, work will be done on three intersections of Via Nomentana-corso Trieste-via Lazzaro Spallanzani; Via Nomentana-via Zara; and Corso Trieste-via Zara-via Alessandria; all points at which, over the past 10 years, 22 accidents have occurred, with 13 injuries and one death; 60 percent of these accidents involved injuries and the average annual social cost was 800,000 euros.

The work will make these areas safe through a new traffic pattern with no direct left turns onto Nomentana Street. The work will also include: the redoing of signage throughout the intersection area; the widening and reconfiguration of pedestrian spaces to secure routes and crossings; the protection of pedestrian crossings with new physical "lifesaver" islands; and the reconfiguration and protection of parking spaces to prevent obstructive parking, particularly near intersections and crossings, and to ensure maximum visibility: And also the removal of all existing architectural barriers through the construction of new chutes and the protection of expanded pedestrian spaces with "St. Andrew's cross" bollard elements and the reconfiguration of traffic light systems.

At the via Zara-via Nomentana intersection, the project will also include the widening of the traffic islands on the Nomentana/Trieste side toward the center of the intersection - to prevent unpermitted turning manoeuvres - and the reconfiguration of the lit traffic crosswalk. Next, the gap that today allows direct access from Via Zara to the central carriageway of Via Nomentana, a dangerous and prohibited manoeuvre, but one performed by many vehicles, will be closed. With this first part of the work completed within the first quarter, the work on the first batch of interventions will continue and will be completed by summer with the intersections between Via Cristoforo Colombo and Via Canale della Lingua in the 10th municipality and the intersection between Via Cardinal Pacca and Via del Casal di san Pio V.

Mayor Roberto Gualtieri explained that "The works that start today on Via Nomentana are part of the strong commitment that our Administration has made to reduce the number of road victims. The latest incident on the Flaminio riverfront tragically confirms the urgency of intervening decisively to stop the carnage, acting also with targeted projects in the areas considered most at risk. Within the year we will intervene in a total of 8 "black points" and then continue with another 75 by the Jubilee.” "The black points are one of the tools to be deployed, but our action to improve road safety also continues on other fundamental roads, such as increasing controls and speed cameras and investing in important tools such as the 715 new illuminated crosswalks that we have recently announced. In addition, we are moving forward with the design of environmental islands and 30 zones, with the major road maintenance work that we immediately initiated to improve the quality of our roads, and with our work to strengthen the Local Police force. And we also need a strong awareness-raising effort to respect the rules and speed limits: in fact, in a few days we will launch a major communication campaign dedicated to these issues. We must each do our part, because road safety concerns each and every one of us."

"The works that start today on the first black point on Via Nomentana," said Mobility Councillor Eugenio Patanè, "represent an important first step in the work we are called upon to carry out on the issue of road safety, in order to save lives and to achieve the goal that today might seem utopian of the so-called 'Vision Zero ' that is, zero deaths and injuries on our roads. Rome Mobility Services has analyzed 30 thousand accidents that occurred in the last ten years, classifying them according to certain parameters such as; for example, the social cost of the accident, the number of accidents, the severity and the traffic flow in the area. Of dangerous intersections we have identified 175 and, thanks to a framework agreement, we will intervene on the first 75 by the Jubilee." By 2023, work will begin on the second lot, which on the other hand, is entirely dedicated to 4 "black points" present on Cristoforo Colombo and located at the intersection of the avenue with "piazzale 25 marzo 1957" (Eur); and again at the intersection with via Pindaro in Infernetto, with via Federici and via Padre Semeria in Garbatella and with piazzale dell'Agricoltura, also in Eur.