The discussions on how to best control the traffic in this narrowest stretch of the winding canal continue, in official meetings, between residents, and is rehashed daily in the newpapers. Vested interest abound on all sides, with no one wanting to give an centimeter (literally). And I can’t picture the Grand Canal without all these wonderful boats moving through. So as the debates continue, and time goes on, the less likely anything will change. When you live in a city where the water is your street and the boat is your mode of transportation, then you can understand how it’s difficult to change as well as how an accident can happen. However, to get a real sense of the traffic, watch the video made by a local, Manuel Vecchina, who made this video shortly after the accident. Watch Video: Traffic on the Canal And then he proceeded to itemize the traffic in the 10 hour period of the time lapse video:
- 1615 Times a Vaporetto stopped at the Rialto to drop off or pick up passengers
- 700 Taxis traveled under the Rialto Bridge
- 216 Transport boats delivered or picked up goods, laundry, merchandise, food, etc
- 209 Gondole went under the Rialto Bridge
- 168 Private boats, of all sizes
- 39 Alilaguna Airport Shuttles arrived and departed
- 18 Vaporetto “Bus dell’art”
- 13 Ambulances came through the area
- 17 Police Boats patrolled
- 2 Fire Boats
The film condenses 10 hours into 4 minutes, so the boats aren’t moving nearly as fast as it appears. In fact the speed is limited to about 5mph. Hope you’ll enjoy this glimpse of Venice.You might enjoy:Incident on the Grand CanalOur video of a trip on the Grand Canal.
