European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 15, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Agazine italian police turn away cars attempting la enter the historic Center of Rome. In the background is the Caia Sieurin. Italian cities put brakes on traffic bedlam by Clydeh Beruan. New York times i Taly s Romance with the automobile a frenzied and abiding passion thai has withstood the Rigours of decades is turning to heartache. Belatedly italians have discovered a harsh reality thai just because you love something in Doos not have to love you Back and so one by one Italy s major cities Are banishing cars from i hair historic centers for at least part of the. Day. Ii is a last gasp attempt to Clear hopelessly clogged streets to give hunkered Down pedestrians a fighting Chance and maybe also to ease 1-o relentless pollution that is choking residents and eroding Many of the world s most cherished cultural and religious monuments. This is not e uniquely italian problem of course but How Many countries have so Many treasures to guard. In Florence the heart of Iho cily has been turned into a pedestrian mall film 7 30  to 6 30  and florentine will Vole on whether to Orlend the. Resari colons Ovon further. Central Rome is off limits to Normal car iral fic during the morning end evening Rush hours for a total of seven  Day. Milan boasts of. Similar restrictions that it describes As Tho most extensive m Europe affecting nearly 1,000 acres of streets surrounding the Dutno the City s enormous gothic Cathedral. According to officials there he number  in circulation cily vide has dropped by 50 percent Over Tho last three years Bologna plans to impose prohibitions in a jew. Weeks. And Naples where individual Liberty and unimpeded motoring am considered synonymous joined to crusade last month by announcing that it would finally enforce a 49-year-old ban on parking in front of churches and major monuments. By Law offenders lace fines of up to $26,000. But that strikes everyone there As a bit stiff and there is general agreement that penalties should hover at a More manageable level of s75, despite this laxness. Of Licals say the restrictions Are being obeyed sort of. The oily traffic commissioner Carmine Simeons had wanted to go much Lurcher and he cited for an outright ban on cars As in other cities but that touched off a protest ram politicians and businessmen thai i a Suljic Ianuly loud to Force a tactical Retreat to was merely a temporary Selbach. The commissioner insisted. Everyman has a dream ".he. Said. I dream of a clean City.". Judging from last held altitudes in Naples and elsewhere. Simeone will need Wells of patience. White Italy s love Alfair with the automobile May be sorely Les cd these Days in continues to Burn fanned by the country s newfound affluence and a widespread yearning for flashy acquisitions. Cars and everything 10 do with them Are daily preoccupations. Rate is he Day when newspapers do not carry a sizable Story on the subject.---,-. One of the livelier debates of recent months focused on a summertime government Experiment to limit. Highway speeds 1o 68 Miles an hour instead of the old Standard of 87, this a lion produced fewer casualties on the Road.  theress Many italians were dismayed. Statistics notwithstanding some denounced the lower Speed limit As dangerous it made driving so Boring that motorists ran the risk of falling asleep at the wheel they said. In the resulting hubbub a complicated Compromise. Was reached one that practically requires motorists to carry calendars and calculators if they want to figure out Tho permissible Speed. It now varies with the size of the car engine and the Day of the week on the Autostrada one May drive anywhere from 50 to 81 Miles an hour depending on circumstances no that the rules matter All that much in Italy Many motorists accept 100 Mph or More As a divine right. In Rome and Olshef major cities residents regard their cars As  irian luxuries because Public transportation systems Are unreliable and strike prone. According to a research group known As consist. Just about two of every three romans. 632 percent drive to work ,. It is not surprising therefore that he new prohibitions against Central cily iral fic have lob photos wide enough to drive a Good sized truck through. Rome has authorized thousands of exemptions so Many that one is hard pressed to left during Rush ii ours that a ban is a Laily in effect. Even in Milan where people Pride Thoms Etves on being More Public spirited than then Southern cousins exceptions to the . A new Type of Black Market has sprung up newspapers Cabri Wilh Lake permits to enter he Day denier said to be going for $500each, a. So Lor All the Good intentions. Italian cities remain. Bedlam on four wheels where the Onty pedestrians Are the Quick and the dead and he air is so thick it would horrify All but those who do nol Trust air they cannot  is a Dante Esq a vision of the problem. There double parking Means leaving your car Al the curb alongside the car thai is blocking the sidewalk naturally triple and quadruple parking is taken Lor granted. On the Many narrow streets of the old City Tarflie is so bad that much of the Day nothing can move tuesday november 15, 1988 the stars and stripes. Paga j3