Authorities in Venice have set out proposals to make navigation safer on the city’s main waterway after a German tourist died in a crash last week.
They aim to regulate traffic flow on the heavily congested Grand Canal.
Plans include carrying out checks for drug use by gondoliers, the BBC reported.
50-year-old Joachim Vogel died after his family were thrown into the water when their gondola collided with a public water bus on August 17.
His three-year-old daughter was treated in hospital for head injuries. Vogel died after getting crushed between the two boats.
Police say traces of cocaine were found in the bloodstream of the gondolier.
Venice mayor Giorgio Orsoni told the BBC yesterday: “We have to think of the Grand Canal as a street, a main street like that of all cities, with particular heavy traffic. We need some discipline.”
To avoid future accidents, he said, “these measures will require some sacrifices for citizens”.
Gondolas may only be allowed to operate at certain times of the day after morning rush hour, he added.
The city council was assessing the possibility of widening narrow passageways by removing structures such as small docks, he said.
They also hope to introduce a system of checking for drug and alcohol abuse by those in charge of boats and are looking into proposals to ban captains from using hand-held devices while navigating the canals.