Traffic management in Safi

There is no point in pretending to safeguard our heritage if traffic is allowed to destroy it. The village of Safi has a street pattern which evolved naturally to serve the needs of the age in which it was developed.

Unchanged for many years in form and scale, old Safi consists mainly of a complex of narrow winding streets round a square - which appears unexpectedly through gaps in buildings or round ends of streets, as one walks around.

These open spaces are now very precious - certainly too precious to be filled with roundabouts. We are supposedly conserving our heritage and village piazzas, while allowing them to be destroyed by a huge flow of traffic.

Traffic problems should not be underestimated. Obviously, villages cannot be redeveloped to accommodate full motorisation. Neither can pedestrians be separated from vehicles by a change of street level.

There must be a clear division between streets required for heavy vehicles and those used by pedestrians.

People living in restricted areas are being battered by an increasing volume of noise, assaulted by exhaust fumes emitted from large vehicles and also risking life and limb. Some heavy vehicles have been specially designed to perform specific tasks and are not suited to operate in certain restricted surroundings.

The time is ripe for a determined effort to see whether it is possible to declare, once and for all, certain streets in Safi village as controlled vehicle zones.

Anything that can be done to raise the quality of the environment of an area may stimulate efforts to preserve this village. Eliminating or controlling traffic in certain streets would improve environmental standards and may have a tonic effect on the health and beauty of the areas.

If the authorities or the local council are to overcome this threat successfully, a solution must be sought on the broadest possible basis and as an integral part of the planning process and within the concept of conservation areas. This is not new although it seems much remains to be learned.

What is clear is that if the concept is to be meaningful, if it is to produce more than a spate of mere statutory designations, urgent action is called for at many different levels. Conservation must become a major objective of positive planning not only for historic stone buildings but also for the people's benefit.