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The bridge was meant to be very solemnly inaugurated on Sept. 18, 2008, with the President of the Italian Republic attending. However, this ceremony was cancelled due to the protests of associations of people with disabilities, in particular of the Un ponte per tutti petition, because the bridge violates national accessibility norms, as it includes glass-covered stairs that exclude people in wheelchairs.

The bridge has provoked its share of controversies, including concerns about the bridge's accessibility to locals and tourists in wheelchairs. (The city has promised to install "egg-shaped lifts" for the disabled, but whether they'll be more reliable than Venice's existing platform lifts is unknown.)