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Docks are a crucial part of global infrastructure for many cities with booming economies and extensive trade power. Throughout the years, ordinary docks have been used mainly for the transportation of cargo into and out of a city, and for the transportation of people. In most cities, after immense amounts of cargo are unloaded off a boat, they are then loaded onto a truck and delivered to their specific locations. Docks make it easy for boaters to transport goods, access the water, and complete shipments, increasing their quality of life in many cities.
Venice is a unique city when it comes to transporting goods because the “roads” are actually small waterways, or canals, where boats travel, similar to how cars drive on roads. When compared to traditional docks, the docks in Venice are diverse because of their complex infrastructure and configuration with canal walls. Traditional docks are built mostly of stone and brick, which is quite different than the conventional floating wooden docks in other parts of the world. The traditional dock in Figure 1 is different from typical docks because it does not move with the tides and boats have to adjust as the height of the water changes. Different types of docks are located in different positions of the city depending on which docks work best for the area, and which docks are easiest to use.
In the city, there are approximately 1600 docks , so it’s difficult to imagine that they would all work perfectly. Docks are often impractical because as the tides change, it makes maneuvers difficult for a majority of the workers, which is one of the main problems. Delivery men often have trouble using certain types of docks in the city because steps may be covered with algae or inaccessible from the canals.
Information has been collected on docks and it has been determined that 32% cannot be used because of their configuration to the canals. Based on the amount of space boats take up while being docked on the side of canals, workers and certain citizens would rather see the wasted space being better utilized for overnight parking or completely removing the dock. Venetians have already solved some of these problems by reassessing the unusable dock space for parking; however, attention is still needed in many parts of the city because problems still remain.
Although there are problems with the dock system, the general public has found ways to work around the issues. In certain locations of the city, citizens are more interested in preserving the beauty of historical docks than they are with making every dock useable. As Venice continues to grow, the amount of shipments and docks needed also grows dramatically, therefore, the city must decide if it is more important to have more useable docks, or conserve the beauty. After all, docks are crucial to the survival of the city because they are the medium through which everything is brought into the city.
Contents |
History
Docks are essential to the shipping and receiving of goods to all areas of the city. In a city built on waterways, it is crucial that shipments move through the waters seamlessly, and having a good infrastructure of docks is necessary for transportation. Docks are helpful to shipments because there are so many throughout the city and on the individual islands. The issue with having a large amount of docks on many different islands is that based on the fact that not all docks can be easily used, it may be difficult for a boater to find a good dock if they are not familiar with the area. Although there are many docks on each island, all of them might not be useful for the boaters because of the size and configuration of the dock in the canal.
From a transportation point of view, the upkeep of docks also affects people because the docks are used to accomplish many daily tasks. In some cases, citizens use their own personal boats to move around the city day to day and get tasks done when they need to, but this doesn’t work out very well for the whole city. About 32 % of docks cannot be used because of the different problems that occur within the canals including tides, and sometimes traffic. The docks which cannot be used take up space that could be used for boat parking (Figure 2), either overnight or during the day. The state of docks also affects tourists, and commuters who are attempting to get into the city during the day. Docks have also made it difficult for mobility impaired people to get around, such as elderly, injured, or people with disabilities, depending on which dock they choose to use. It is important for people trying to commute into the city that docks are easy to use, as well as for tourists, who want to see the entire city in the short time they are here.
As far as the scheduled maintenance and upkeep of docks is concerned, docks are actually part of the canal walls so they are conveniently preserved and maintained in the same way as the rest of the canal walls. In the past years, the process of preserving docks as well as the continuation of maintenance has been the responsibility of Insula. With many of the docks, Insula repairs the parts of the stairs that are damaged or not working properly. Insula also makes suggestions to dock owners of what measures could be taken to help preserve their docks and suggest structures that could be placed on or over some of the less useful docks, hopefully making them functional again. For example, when Insula dredges a canal, they inform dock owners that while the canal is empty, it would be the opportune time to maintain their dock. If they choose not to maintain the dock while Insula is working, then dock owners would have to attempt to fix it while there is water in the canal, which is nearly impossible, or pay to have the canal emptied again.
Problems
Although there are over 1600 docks, problems with docks have continued to occur because of their structure, configuration, tides, and their position of the canals. Throughout the day, the low and high tides cause a portion docks to become inaccessible to boats which creates the most basic problem with the dock system. The tides affect the ability to dock as well as the size of a boat, which can create a back up of traffic through the canals, or block them all together. Docks also pose a safety problem with “Danger Zones” when they are adjacent to bridges without a gate blocking the street.
At high tide in the lagoon, the stairs of many docks are underwater and there less space on the dock for boats to pull up to. The high tide makes shipping and receiving of products difficult because there is usually a large amount of space required for the bigger boats. On the contrary, when low tide occurs, the stairs that were originally underwater during a higher or regular tide are uncovered so there is more space for people to use, but unfortunately, this proposes two more problems. One of the problems is that all of the stairs that were underwater for some portion of time are covered with green algae which make the stairs dangerously slippery (Figure 3). This causes a problem for people moving to and from the docks for transportation, and with cargo delivery. When cargo is brought to the area, the dock cannot be used because the delivery person cannot stand on the docks. Deliveries are usually required to use the sidewalk (Figure 4) to unload all of their cargo to insure their safety and keep their products from accidentally falling into the canals.
Boats may have a difficult time utilizing the docks because of the height difference between the top of the boat where cargo is stored, and the level of the sidewalk. When the tide is very low, the street sometimes lies far above the boats, forcing the workers to lift boxes over their heads to get them onto the sidewalks, creating more work for them. This process makes it more difficult for workers to use the docks and areas around them in specific situations. In some extreme cases, low tides would prohibit shipments to be made to certain parts of an island because the docks are completely inaccessible to workers. Depending on the type of dock previously referenced, workers may be able to walk up the stairs of the dock. As is the case in Figure 4 though, most of these steps are covered with water, which means that during low tide they would be covered with algae, making them useless.
Over 32% of docks are unused in the city because they are inaccessible from the water or from the sidewalk. Figure 5 shows the breakdown of usable and unusable docks on the island and the locations of the docks using a Geographic Information System map layer where green represents useable docks and red represents unusable docks. There are specific docks located throughout the structure of canals that there are specific instances when docks are ignored all together. Again, referring to Figure 4 where a worker is shown a ignoring the dock all together and instead using the sidewalk next to the dock to make shipments to store owners. Ignoring the actual steps of the docks seems to be the preferred way near docks such as this to deliver shipments to the stores because of the inaccessibility of a percentage of docks. Often, boats will block the opening of a dock with their boat and use the sidewalk to unload cargo, instead of using the dock.
Traffic issues could also be caused by docks because if a boat stops to unload cargo for a long period of time, the boats can create a traffic backup in the canal. The boat may even be large enough that the canal would be impassable, and boats would actually have to back out of the canal, causing a major traffic jam. Boats are often docked and unloading cargo while other boats have to wait behind them for them to finish.
Danger zones are a safety hazard that is becoming important to the city as maintenance continues. A danger zone occurs when a dock is directly adjacent to a bridge (Figure 6) and is deemed dangerous when there is no gate blocking pedestrians from the dock. This is a problem for vision impaired people because any person using a walking stick to maneuver around the city is unaware of which side of the path the dock is on, and which side the bridge is on. This could unfortunately cause a pedestrian to become injured, or fall into a canal. However, there are some instances in which a gate placed between the path and the steps of the dock, making it safer for pedestrians. Danger Zones are becoming the most prevalent problem with docks and although there are many problems in the city when it comes to docks, Venetians do a good job with working past them.
Types of Docks Type of Dock # Color Stairs perpendicular to canal 462 Stairs parallel to canal 180 Perpendicular to canal with platform 397 Parallel to canal with platform 330 Dock without steps 98 Covered 62 Monumental 55 Unclassified/Other 44
Different types of docks are spread around the whole city and all have names that describe their configuration to the canal, but none of them have names that are common knowledge to people. Table 1 lists the different types of docks , and the total number of each kind of dock throughout the city. The docks can be found in various locations around the city and are shown in Figure 7. The different types have varied amounts of usability depending on how accessible they are for boaters and their accessibility to workers on the surrounding sidewalks. Docks differ by whether they have stairs that are parallel or perpendicular to the canals, if there are platforms, and if they are placed in the sidewalk or project out into the canals.
The most abundant type of dock is the dock in which stairs are configured perpendicular to the canal; however, it is not the most useful type in the lagoon. Although there over 450 docks (Table 1) of this specific type, they are difficult to use during high and low tide. There are numerous stairs that remain underwater during high tide, making it impracticable for boats to get close enough to the shore to actually tie up to the dock. Once the water moves to a lower tide, plenty of steps are uncovered, but they are unfortunately now covered with algae, still making it difficult to maneuver. In this design, larger boats with a great deal of cargo cannot dock because of the difficulty presented by not being close to the sidewalk once docked. Very often, boats ignore these types of docks overall even though they are plentiful throughout the city and they are often considered the least useful type of dock design in the system.
One of the most useful types of docks has stairs which are directly parallel to the canals (Figure 8). It has become the most useful because people are able to utilize them even when considering the problem docks have with algae and the changing of tides through the city. As noted before, only 32% of total steps on docks are actually useable, however, during low tides, all of the steps would be accessible to boats, depending on how dangerous the steps are due to algae. The parallel docks are flexible because boats can adjust their position by moving back and forth according to how high the water is on the stairs and based on the amount of space they need.
Similar, the parallel and perpendicular docks can also have platforms (Figure 8 or Figure 9), and although they are classified differently, the two types of perpendicular docks and two types of parallel docks are very similar to each other. The only main difference is that there would be a platform located somewhere along the steps that move out of the canal onto the sidewalk. The platform can sometimes come in handy when unloading cargo; however, as shown in Figure 9, if it is covered with algae, it only makes that part of the dock useless. For the docks that have stairs perpendicular to the canal with a platform, the platform very often keeps the boat even further from the sidewalk and is unused because of the difficulty imposed by the useless platform.
Throughout the city, there are not many monumental docks (Figure 9); however, they are still important and hold specific historical value because of their beauty and history. Even though the docks are not easy to use for docking purposes, the city has forbidden any permanent or temporary changes on all off the monumental docks. There is no interest in adding any over structure to the docks or removing them from the city all together. Monumental docks may not be used daily for common purposes, but they are still appreciated because of their unique beauty and specific locations.
The public boat system throughout the city, known as the Vaporetti, has a type of dock all to itself. Unlike other docks in the city, the Vaporetti system of docks works great for the purpose it has intended. All docks for the Vaporetti are handicapped accessible, easy to use, and well maintained. Another positive feature about the Vaopretti is that the entire schedule is mapped out and accessible to the public, so customers always know what time the boats will show up, and how long it will take them to get to their stop. These docks have been working so well, that it almost makes other docks seem completley pointless from a transportation point of view. The docks that the Vaporetti use to move around are a unique type of dock because they actually float up and down with the water unlike the traditional docks that have been previously explained. The floating dock is convenient for the Vaporetto because commuters and tourists do not have to awkwardly move to get onto the boats, which keeps the boat system moving quickly and efficiently. These types of docks seem to work the best for every aspect, if only they had enough space in more canals to use these types of docks.
Other Uses & Efforts for Improvements
Many times, there are docks that are not used for docking boats to receive shipments for public or private transportation. Throughout the day and especially during the night, some of the docks that are considered useless based on their ineffectiveness and are commonly ignored and used for parking. The docks that have been temporarily used for parking spaces cannot be used for docking because of their inaccessibility to the sidewalks, their configuration in the canals, or their shape and size. The city has determined that using them as parking spaces is a better solution that saves space in the canals and money. Improvements to current canals include adding on over-structures to docks that are usually difficult to use. As shown in (Figure 10) the over-structures protrude out into the canals rather than into the sidewalk like other docks. The over-structures make docks usable and are convenient for workers because there is usually far less algae on the wooden dock. In addition to being safer, the over-structures are usually position so that the normal high tide does cause the dock to flood. One of the downsides however, is that it affects the boat traffic passing in the area because it protrudes into the canal.
When it comes to making any dock useful, most workers have become relatively creative by adding whatever temporary structure they can. In some extreme cases, such as in Figure 11, a board has been placed across the top of the dock and a boat in order for a maintenance worker to move a wheelbarrow. This has become popular with maintenance workers and delivery men as shipments are becoming more frequent.
Maintenance of Docks
Over-structures such as in Figure 11 have been implemented, which has helped make some of the docks easier to use. The over-structures are usually made of wood and cover some of the steps of the dock that may be covered with algae or may have broken pieces. This helps workers because there is more space on the docks for them to unload cargo and it is easier to dock boats on a wooden structure.
With a well working docking system, and the reorganization of shipping products around the city, life in Venice should become less stressful and easier to navigate. As Insula moves through the city making these repairs, the important docks on each island are being repaired. In some cases, these docks now have useful over-structures and large portions of the algae have been covered over so the docks are less slippery.
As Insula repairs the canals, bridges, and continues their dredging schedule, they also repair the docks in the city as needed. Many of the docks have been repaired by them and even some of the over-structures for the docks have been added onto the docks. Insula has plans for continuing maintenance in Venice; however, after the scheduled canal maintenance is complete there are no further plans laid out yet for the city.
What’s Next?
Fortunately, the docking system has been improved recently, and the city is continuing to make improvements to many of the docks. Although docks have been worked on throughout the past years, there are still issues with docks that need to be resolved. The majority of problems have been assessed through the city, and the city is currently in the position to keep most docks the way they are to preserve the beauty of the city. Insula is presently doing maintenance to the docks and keeping them in good working order. In the immediate future, Insula plans to continue the maintenance on docks as they are found in disrepair, but for the most part, the city of Venice seems pleased on the order of the dock system.
References
Cioffi, Carlo, Vicky Dulac, Marsano Jose, and Robert Reguero. Development of a Copmuterized Decision Support System for the Scheduled Maintenance of the Inner Canals of Venice. WPI; Worcester, MA, 1997. Forma Urbis. EasyDocks Application. Venice, Italy