Naples– "I've never seen Naples so paralyzed, not even under former mayor Iervolino." This is a desperate plea launched by representatives of the Associazione Tassisti di Base, supported by Movimento Consumatori, Dalla Parte del Consumatore, and Nessuno Tocchi Ippocrate, who in the past few hours have sent a formal request to the Prefect of Naples, Michele di Bari, for urgent intervention in the city's traffic management.
The complaint comes at the culmination of a years-long dispute, marked by public protests, letters, institutional meetings, and ongoing requests that have so far remained unanswered.
Now the representative groups are demanding direct and decisive action from the Prefecture, calling for an extraordinary prefectural ordinance to address the "no longer tolerable" road situation.
The daily chaos
The document, also sent to the city's main newspapers, describes a Naples "on its last legs," gripped by constant construction sites, chaotic diversions, and constant traffic congestion that affects both the city center and the suburbs alike. "Even a compass would go haywire trying to navigate the city streets," the initiators of the appeal wrote bitterly, denouncing an unprecedented level of disorder.
The city administration, in particular, is in the crosshairs, accused of inertia and disconnection from everyday reality. "They talk about 'future mobility' while traffic strangles the city," the statement reads. "While the doctor studies, the patient dies—allow us this Neapolitan maxim."
Ignored requests and institutional silence
The associations recall that for two years they asked the Prefecture to act as an intermediary between the Municipality and the most affected groups—taxi drivers, ambulances, and consumers—proposing stopgap measures such as alternate license plates, restricted access to the city center, or traffic restrictions on critical days. But none of these measures have ever been implemented.
"We have the clear perception," the signatories accuse, "that there is a lack of political will to act, while the city sinks into chaos."
Security and public order emergency
The complaint doesn't stop at logistical issues. "We are facing an emergency that has taken on public order and security implications," the unions state, "and precisely for this reason the Prefect has the power to intervene without further political mediation, to protect citizens, workers, and the entire urban system."
The request is clear: a strong signal, a concrete act that restores livability and normalcy to a city held hostage by traffic every day. "Naples can't wait any longer!" is the cry coming from the squares, from taxis stuck amid honking horns, and from ambulances forced to plow through convoys of stalled cars. A cry that now awaits an answer.
This is a thought-provoking article about the situation in Naples, but it's strange how the authorities don't seem interested in solving the traffic problem that affects everyone. I hope something changes soon for the good of the city.