Twenty-two orange anti-parking bollards installed in the open area in front of Benevento Cathedral were removed after little more than 24 hours, prompting a formal challenge from opposition councillors over permits, oversight and the wider management of paid parking by concessionaire BeMobi.
The posts stood near the intersection of Corso Garibaldi and Corso Vittorio Emanuele. According to local reporting, they appeared and then disappeared within a short period, with one account describing their removal within a few hours of their appearance. Councillor Attilio Cappa said the posts were considered unsuitable for the area, adding that a different solution was being studied and that the horizontal road markings would be redone.
The opposition has asked the mayor and the competent councillor to clarify whether the intervention had the necessary municipal authorizations. Their questions also concern who authorizes and supervises work carried out in public space by the parking concessionaire.
The same interrogation goes beyond the Cathedral episode. Opposition councillors have requested details on the planned installation of 1,880 smart parking sensors, including authorizations, device safety, how violations are detected, and how sanctions, appeals and cancellations are handled. The sources acquired do not provide verified totals for fines, appeals or cancellations under the new system, nor do they publish the municipal authorization records or concession agreement that would settle the permit question.
What the administration has confirmed, according to the local reports, is that the first 15 minutes of a short stay in the paid-parking spaces are free.
What drivers need to know now
BeMobi lists the current Benevento tariffs as 1.50 euros per hour in Zone A and 0.80 euros per hour in Zone B. The published paid hours are 09:00 to 20:00 every day, including holidays.
The paid-parking system began under BeMobi with reported difficulties, including malfunctioning ticket machines, missing stall numbering and a server fault on the first day of the new operation. Those early problems remain part of the background to current complaints about disruption and improvisation, language used by the opposition in its latest statement.
For drivers using the centre, the practical points are therefore straightforward: check whether a space is in Zone A or Zone B before paying, observe the 09:00-20:00 paid window, and keep a record of payment and timing for any short stay or dispute.
What is still unresolved
No replacement for the removed Cathedral posts has been identified in the reporting. The relationship between the 22 temporary dissuasors and the separate plan for 1,880 smart sensors is mentioned in the opposition's questions but is not fully documented in the available material.
The central allegation — that the bollards may have been installed without municipal authorization — remains attributed to the opposition. It has not been independently established by the sources reviewed, and the final legal assessment of the intervention is not documented.
The opposition says it will continue monitoring BeMobi's management of the blue zones, with attention to permits, sensors, fines and the handling of appeals.
