Problems of moving around the Principality and travelling in and out of Monaco, especially at peak times, have risen to the top of the agenda at the National Council.
Council President Brigitte Boccone-Pages told members of the Monaco press on Monday that the topic “that absolutely exasperates everyone in Monaco, whether residents, commuters, visitors to the Principality and yourself, I’m sure.”
She spoke of the almost permanent paralysis of traffic on the streets of the Principality, which gets worse every year and “becomes absolutely unbearable during events like, at this moment, the Yacht Show.”
Mme Boccone-Pages mentioned, too, the health implications of traffic fumes and the damage to Monaco’s reputation.
The head of the elected body said that the time for studies, projects and plans had long passed and it was time to move to concrete measures.
She spoke, too, of “blocked initiatives,” such as free buses and a maritime shuttle.
Nathalie Amoratti-Blanc, President of the Environment and Quality of Life Commission of the National Council, added her own observations. “For more than 10 years we have been told that there is no miracle recipe. Of course, we know it’s difficult, but why not finally bring together the ingredients to show that Monaco is more agile, more efficient than other suffocating megacities?”
“Over the past 10 years, we have heard the word “study” more than 1,000 times, but too rarely the word “decision.”.
Driving the point home very forcibly, she said: “Imagine a major economic partner from Switzerland asking the question of settling one day in Monaco, landing in Nice early in the morning for a meeting in Monaco at 9:30 a.m. We all know he will never arrive on time for his appointment. It’s time, it’s time to act, to make decisions and stick to them. I will not be the President of a Commission that allows the situation to continue to deteriorate without interposing ourselves so that the Government finally accepts its responsibilities.”
PHOTO: National Council