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Councilor Granelli in the Mobility Commission at Municipality 1 illustrated how the areas near Largo Augusto and along via Sforza, via Molino delle armi, via Santa Sofia and piazza Resistenza partigiana will change

Milan, 2 December 2020 – The projects for the superficial improvements of areas adjacent to the construction sites of the central Sforza-De Amicis section of the M1, the new Milan metro, were presented to Municipality 4 by the Mobility Councilor Marco Granelli.

“The construction of the new metro line – declares Marco Granelli, Councilor for Mobility – is an opportunity to redevelop parts of the city. Giving citizens back the areas occupied by construction sites with more livable spaces, more greenery, more sustainable mobility is important. The trains connecting Linate and San Cristoforo will run underneath and on the surface we imagine the possibility of a long walk through large pedestrian, cycle and green areas".

In detail, the interventions, signed by the architect Loredana Brambilla of the Municipality of Milan in collaboration with AMAT – Officine urban, refer to the areas of the Augusto building (largo Augusto and via Verziere), Sforza-Policlinico station (via Francesco Sforza in the section from via Pond in Corso di Porta Romana), Santa Sofia station (via Santa Sofia in the stretch from Corso di Porta Romana to Corso Italia), Vetra station (via Molino delle armi) and De Amicis station (Piazza Resistenza partigiana and Via De Amicis).

All the interventions have some common objectives: improving the quality of urban space, redesigning and redeveloping public spaces; strengthen the connection between the new metro line and the city; expand the areas with a clear pedestrian vocation; create new cycle paths (2 kilometres) to create an extensive and homogeneous network intended to strengthen the environmental sustainability and efficient mobility of the city, in particular with the completion of the cycle path from Sforza to De Amicis in both directions of the Cerchia dei navigli , giving completeness to a widely used itinerary; increase user safety through the creation of protected cycle and pedestrian routes, regulation of traffic speed with the recalibration of road sections and the formation of guardrails at the most critical intersections for safety; concretely increase the city's green facilities through the redevelopment and creation of 5.500 square meters of new green areas and the planting of 200 new trees and shrubs.

In Largo Augusto and Via Verziere, now occupied by the construction site of the Manufatto Augusto, the project proposes a complete pedestrianization and the return to the original position of the historic Colonna del Verziere. The Municipality proposes to insert two rows of trees, from Largo Bersaglieri to Largo Augusto, with a new continuous stone paving and with new trees in the regained pedestrian space, so as to recall the umbrellas of the old market. Largo Bersaglieri is redesigned to enhance the greenery and the existing monument with new tree-lined areas enriched with shrubby essences. The materials chosen are: cubes of national granite laid in parallel rows while new trees, around 30 specimens, will be planted and protected by horizontal grids. The seats will be positioned adjacent to the new tree-lined areas.

As regards Via Francesco Sforza, near the construction site for the Sforza-Policlinico station, the project focuses on the valorisation of the area adjacent to Cà Granda intended as a connection space with the new M4 line, Via Pantano and the Statale. In this sense, the creation of an opening in the connecting space between via Sforza and via Pantano is envisaged. Its new pedestrian vocation is emphasized by the inclusion of new stone paving on the sidewalks on both sides and new greenery with trees and areas delimited by national granite cordons and enriched with trees and shrubs complete with irrigation system.

The project retraces Via Santa Sofia from Corso di Porta Romana to Corso Italia, where the M4 Santa Sofia station is being built, demonstrating how a large service road that characterizes the old Cerchia dei Navigli, which has long been covered, can be transformed with the insertion of green pools and new plantings in a fascinating pedestrian avenue.

The green pools delimited by stone cordons of different heights characterize the new urban space. The materials, in continuity with the other previous interventions, are Luserna slabs laid in the new pedestrian spaces while the new green areas will be enriched by shrubs and trees in continuity with Via Sforza, with a new foliage effect during the change of seasons. Where required, the redevelopment can be completed with the insertion of seats, bicycle racks and bollards.

The next stretch affected by the redevelopment projects is via Molino delle armi from the intersection via De Amicis - Corso di Porta Ticinese towards via Santa Croce / via della Chiusa. Therefore, near the construction site for the M4 Vetra station, the Municipality plans to expand the Park of the Basilicas towards Via Molino delle Armi, adding greenery and de-paved spaces and cycle and pedestrian paths, thus continuing the landscape route of Via Santa Sofia and via Sforza.

The project materials here too, for continuity, are Luserna slabs laid in a row and granite cubes in the new pedestrian spaces while the new green areas will be enriched by shrubs and trees. The intervention is completed by the insertion of seats, bicycle racks and bollards, where required.

Finally, the redevelopment project in Piazza Resistenza partigiana and Via De Amicis, near the future M4 De Amicis station, involves the creation of a new pedestrian space, new greenery and trees, transforming this place into a new pedestrian space.

Here too the project materials are Luserna slabs laid in a row and granite cubes in the new pedestrian spaces while the new green areas will be enriched by shrubs and trees also in continuity with Via Santa Sofia. The intervention is completed by the insertion of seats, bicycle racks and bollards, where required.

Focus M4 Central section, from Sforza to de Amicis

Augusto Verziere project - De Amicis Project - Weapons mill project - Hagia Sophia Project - Sforza project