The enemy of Venice The city of Venice will impose new restrictions on self-propelled watercraft within its vast network of canals, according to guide company Venice Kayak. A February 20 blog post on the company’s website says that a new modification to the city’s traffic rules, set to take effect March 1, prohibits kayaks, canoes, dragon boats, and SUPs in the Grand Canal—the city’s main thoroughfare. In a February 18 blog post, Venice Kayak owner René Seindal raises questions about the unintended effects of closing the Grand Canal to such traffic. He claims it will change the entire nature of canal transit in Venice and cause confusion and potentially traffic snarls in smaller canals connected to the Grand Canal.
If banning Gondolas in the Grand Canal was wasn't bad enough -- loud suitcase may be next on the list of banned things in Venice. It seems that Venetians are tired of being kept awake at night by throngs of tourists, wheeling their luggage through the city’s narrow streets and over its famous bridges. So, the city’s special commissioner, Vittorio Zappalorto, has come up with a plan to let his citizens get their 40 winks: ban the suitcases. Under new anti-noise pollution proposals, tourists will be barred from bringing luggage with plastic or full rubber wheels to Venice. But bicycle-style tyres, made from rubber and filled with air, will be allowed. If Zapalorto’s plan gets the go ahead, tourists will be fined between €100 and €500 if they break the suitcase rule. Venice residents, however, will be free to continue to use whichever luggage they please. (excepted from OutsideOnline and TheLocal.it for educational purposes; bylines, respectively, Matt Bell (Canal ban) and Rosie Scammell (suitcase ban))
If banning Gondolas in the Grand Canal was wasn't bad enough -- loud suitcase may be next on the list of banned things in Venice. It seems that Venetians are tired of being kept awake at night by throngs of tourists, wheeling their luggage through the city’s narrow streets and over its famous bridges. So, the city’s special commissioner, Vittorio Zappalorto, has come up with a plan to let his citizens get their 40 winks: ban the suitcases. Under new anti-noise pollution proposals, tourists will be barred from bringing luggage with plastic or full rubber wheels to Venice. But bicycle-style tyres, made from rubber and filled with air, will be allowed. If Zapalorto’s plan gets the go ahead, tourists will be fined between €100 and €500 if they break the suitcase rule. Venice residents, however, will be free to continue to use whichever luggage they please. (excepted from OutsideOnline and TheLocal.it for educational purposes; bylines, respectively, Matt Bell (Canal ban) and Rosie Scammell (suitcase ban))
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