Enna Bassa, where traffic comes to a halt: anatomy of a predicted traffic jam

At the Sant'Anna crossroads roundabout, the horns are the emblem of impatience. One queue enters via Pergusina, another presses from Ss 117 bis, a third arrives from Enna Bassa: a vortex that spins, slows down, comes to a stop.

Here the city tells its story in its most sincere version: a road design conceived for yesterday, called to handle today's traffic and compressed by the uncertainties of tomorrow.

It takes little for the funnel to explode: a construction site on the A19, an exam session at Università Kore, a reduced lane on a provincial road, and the rush to reach the hospital. The balance is disrupted and the valley floor transforms into a permanent compensation chamber for the entire province.

A system born for another city

The picture is harsh: the roundabout that replaced the traffic light at the Sant'Anna crossroads held up as long as traffic volumes remained manageable. With the rise of Enna Bassa as a commercial and university hub, and with the intensification of construction sites and issues on the inter-municipal arteries, the system has ceased to function properly. The result is a “wave paralysis” that repeats several times a day, during school and university entry and exit times, exacerbated by the junctions on the Ss 117 bis and Ss 561 Pergusina, which drain – and often reject – flows onto an urban layout designed for a different scale.

The S. Anna roundabout: why it is no longer enough

The choice of the roundabout was the “soft” response to the conflicts of the old traffic light system. Today, however, the junction is surrounded by axes with uneven service levels and geometric radii that do not accommodate the prevailing movements.

Two factors, in particular, lead it to collapse: the growth of vehicles coming from or heading to the Ss 117 bis (between the directions Piazza Armerina – Gela and the connections towards A19/Ss 121), which use Enna Bassa as an access and exit corridor; the local demand generated by the neighborhood (residences, schools, healthcare services) combined with the “belt” demand from decentralized commercial hubs.

There is a precedent: already in the early 2010s, there was discussion of slips and “large” roundabouts around S. Anna to separate main flows from local ones. However, those arms were never built. Today they weigh like a missed opportunity.

The university city that grows more than the boulevards

The neighborhood is not just a road junction: it is the university town. The University of Enna “Kore” has recorded steady growth in recent years. For the 2024/2025 academic year, enrollment is estimated at around 7,411, with an increase of 5.45% year-on-year, according to data released at the start of the academic year; other local sources report a total of over 9,000 students across undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Even without resolving the apparent statistical discrepancy – which depends on counting criteria and the scope of the cohorts considered – the signal is clear: the daily mobility pool related to classes, exams, and services is expanding.

This is compounded by extraordinary events (entrance tests, particularly crowded sessions) that in the past have saturated the traffic in Enna Bassa for hours. This is not a detail: every increase of hundreds of “internal commuter” students generates dozens of daily peaks among shuttles, private cars, car-pooling, and micro-logistics (deliveries, canteens, residences).

At the same time, ERSU and the Region are investing in housing and beds: funds have been planned in Enna to create new availability and renovate the spaces of the Domus Kore residence. A virtuous engine for the right to study, but also a multiplier of local mobility if not managed by adequate planning.