Gondola in sixty seconds: Venice installs speed cameras on its CANALS after spate of deadly accidents

Venice is to install speed cameras on its canals after a spate of fatal accidents.

The cameras will be placed along the city’s waterways and fines will be issued to boats that break the rules after local lawmakers backed an initiative to enforce the same laws that apply to the region’s roads on the canals .

MP Martina Semenzato told Italian media: “The roads (of Venice) are the lagoon channels, so boat traffic must be controlled more effectively.”

The city’s canals are often full of ferries, motorboats, gondolas and other types of ships, especially during the high summer season.

Boats are allowed to travel a maximum of seven kilometers per hour in the main canals, and five kilometers per hour in the smaller ones. However, speed limits are often ignored and a series of fatal incidents have occurred in recent years, raising concerns about the safety of locals and tourists.

In 2019, three men were killed in a high-speed crash in the city’s lagoon and that same year, large cruise ships were banned from the Giudecca Canal after five tourists were injured in a crash.

In 2013, a German tourist was crushed to death when the gondola he was riding in was involved in a collision with a water bus on the Grand Canal.

In 2022, a Belgian tourist stole a water taxi and took it for a quick ride along the Grand Canal before being stopped and fined by police.

Regulatory gaps in the application of fines to ships that have violated local rules have led to a backlog of administrative disputes and an increasing number of unpaid fees.

Semenzato said the changes, which still await final approval from parliament before coming into effect, would make Venice safer and would use new technology to intercept those violating speed rules.

“The amendment introduces a specific speed camera, called Barcavelox, to monitor and record the speed of boats and vessels passing through the canals of the lagoon city,” she said.

The speed limits will also help protect the ecosystem and architecture of Venice’s lagoon, which are at risk of being further damaged by the ‘wave action’ of boats passing through the waters.

Experts have warned it is eroding canal walls below the waterline and damaging historic buildings.

The announcement came as Venice prepares for its annual Carnevale, which starts this week and attracts millions of tourists every year.

The city’s canals are often full of ferries, motorboats, gondolas and other types of vessels, especially during the peak summer season (Stock Image)

In December, the city announced plans to further tackle mass tourism, setting new limits on the size of tourist groups.

From June, groups will be limited to 25 people, or about half the capacity of a tourist bus, and the use of loudspeakers, “which could cause confusion and disturbances,” will be banned, the city said in a statement.

City official in charge of security, Elisabetta Pesce, said the policy was aimed at improving the movement of groups through Venice’s historic center, as well as the busy islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.

The city previously announced plans last year to test a new day trip fare.

The rate of five euros (£4.34) per person applies on 29 peak days between April and mid-July, including most weekends.

It aims to regulate crowds, encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life for Venice residents.

The UN Cultural Agency cited the impact of tourism on the fragile lagoon city as a major factor in twice considering putting Venice on UNESCO’s list of endangered heritage sites.

The city escaped the first time by restricting the arrival of large cruise ships through the Giudecca Canal and again in September when it announced the introduction of the day tourist tax, which had been postponed as tourism fell during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But with tourism levels back to pre-pandemic levels, chaos in the Floating City appears to be at an all-time high.

Perhaps one of the most dangerous examples of tourists disrespecting Italy’s cherished sights saw two Australians zooming along Venice’s Grand Canal on £20,000 electric hydrofoils.

The two men were filmed making waves through the main road in August 2022, angering tourists and locals alike.

One of the hooligans on the hydrofoils – a type of foil board often equipped with electrically powered propellers – was seen on his phone chopping through the canal water.

Even the mayor of Venice targeted the two Australians, calling for punishment and offering a free dinner to anyone who could help identify them.