Venice is installing speed cameras on its canals after a series of deadly accidents
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- Venice is deploying aquatic speed cameras to enforce speed limits on its iconic canals.
- This follows several fatal incidents along the historic city's waterways.
- The measure also comes as part of efforts to preserve Venice's architecture and lagoon ecosystem.
Venice will use speed cameras along its iconic waterways, with fines given to boats that violate speeding rules, following the approval of an amendment by the city's transportation committee.
According to Venice Insider Guide, the amendment permits using "barcaveloxes" to monitor the speed of boats and gondolas navigating the canals.
Barcaveloxes are speed cameras adapted to aquatic environments that can detect when boats are going too fast.
"The roads [of Venice] are the lagoon canals so boat traffic must be controlled more effectively," lawmaker Martina Semenzato told Italian media, per The Telegraph.
According to MailOnline, speed limits already exist for Venice's canals — around four miles per hour in the main canal and a little over three miles per hour in smaller ones.
However, the speed cameras, some of which had already been installed, could not be fully activated due to a lack of regulatory infrastructure.
Instances of speeding have regularly been ignored, MailOnline reported.
According to The Telegraph, local lawmakers pushed for the changes to safeguard the delicate Venetian lagoon's ecosystem and the city's fragile architecture from the "wave motion" of speeding boats.
The newspaper reported that the wave motions erode canal walls and damage local buildings.
In 2021, Italian authorities approved a ban on cruise ships entering Venice's historic center. This was in response to a request from UNESCO, which said that cruise ships were eroding the city's foundations.
Beyond preserving Venice's landmarks, the new speeding rules also aim to protect those traveling along the canals, which have been the site of several fatal incidents over the years, according to Venice Insider Guide.
In 2013, a tourist in a gondola was crushed by a waterbus, and in 2018 three people were killed in two separate boating accidents in just one weekend.
A year later, in 2019, three people died during an attempt to break a high-speed powerboat record.
The flouting of safety recommendations in Venice's canals made further headlines last month when a group of tourists was sent tumbling into icy waters after flipping their gondola, reportedly after ignoring calls from their gondolier to sit down.
Meanwhile, in 2022, a Belgian tourist was caught speeding through the Grand Canal in a stolen water taxi. He was eventually stopped by police and issued with a fine.