+ A
A -
dpa
Rome
Italy is looking at cycling to free up its cities from the congestion that may return once coronavirus restrictions are gradually lifted, and Milan is leading the way.
Work started this week on adding 35 kilometres to the city’s existing network of 220 kilometres of bike lanes, to be completed by the end of the year. The first stretch of new bike lanes, starting from Piazza San Babila near the Duomo Cathedral and running along the central Corso Venezia, “should be ready by mid-May,” a city hall spokeswoman told dpa.
The health emergency “represents an opportunity to make a decisive leap towards a widespread use of bicycles,” Milan’s city hall wrote in a strategy paper called “Open Streets.” The 36-page document mentions Berlin, where bike lanes are also being expanded in the wake of the epidemic, as a source of inspiration.
It foresees restricting road space for cars, extending 30 kilometres per hour speed limits to eventually cover 60 per cent of the municipal road network, and widening pavements.
Milan’s efforts may be supported by Transport Minister Paola De Micheli, as she has promised a 200-euro (220-dollar) government bonus for the purchase of bicycles and electric scooters.
Even Rome, a city usually not associated with modern mobility solutions, announced Saturday plans to build a 150-kilometre network of bike lanes.
Milan is Italy’s most dynamic city, a hub for business, fashion and design industries. It is also the capital of Lombardy, the region that has bore the brunt of Italy’s epidemic.
More than one third of Italy’s virus cases and about about half of virus fatalities have been in Lombardy. The region has one of the worst air pollution problems in Europe.
According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) lockdown measures have dramatically improved air quality across Europe, but these gains may be reversed as economies open up again.
During April, on average, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution fell by 40 per cent and particular matter pollution by 10 per cent, resulting in 11,000 avoided deaths from air pollution, CREA said.
Italy is one of several European countries scheduled Monday to start relaxing lockdown restrictions, with potentially dire consequences for urban mobility.
Due to social distancing, far fewer people will be allowed to cram in buses, trams and metros, and many commuters might be tempted to drive, clogging up roads.
In Milan, public transport capacity will shrink from 1.4 million to 350,000-400,000 passengers a day, the city’s mobility commissioner Marco Granelli said in a video posted on Facebook.
“We are going to have 1 million people who will no longer be able to use public transport safely and therefore we will have to find alternatives for them,” Granelli said.
As part of the new transport strategy, the commissioner announced an expansion of sharing services for bicycles - which should double to 16,000 - and electric scooters, from 2,250 to 6,000.
But Cittadini per l’Aria, a combative local campaign group for clean air, argues that Milan has a long way to go before turning into a green city. “We have one of the highest number of cars per resident in Europe, double that of Berlin, and one tenth of Copenhagen’s bike lanes,” Anna Gerometta, one of the group’s leaders, told dpa.
She was particularly aggrieved by the decision not to reactivate anti-car measures that were suspended during the lockdown, such as the city’s congestion charge zone and bus lanes.
“City hall has been great at selling its transport strategy to the media, but in reality ... they are really missing a great opportunity,” Gerometta said.
Rome
Italy is looking at cycling to free up its cities from the congestion that may return once coronavirus restrictions are gradually lifted, and Milan is leading the way.
Work started this week on adding 35 kilometres to the city’s existing network of 220 kilometres of bike lanes, to be completed by the end of the year. The first stretch of new bike lanes, starting from Piazza San Babila near the Duomo Cathedral and running along the central Corso Venezia, “should be ready by mid-May,” a city hall spokeswoman told dpa.
The health emergency “represents an opportunity to make a decisive leap towards a widespread use of bicycles,” Milan’s city hall wrote in a strategy paper called “Open Streets.” The 36-page document mentions Berlin, where bike lanes are also being expanded in the wake of the epidemic, as a source of inspiration.
It foresees restricting road space for cars, extending 30 kilometres per hour speed limits to eventually cover 60 per cent of the municipal road network, and widening pavements.
Milan’s efforts may be supported by Transport Minister Paola De Micheli, as she has promised a 200-euro (220-dollar) government bonus for the purchase of bicycles and electric scooters.
Even Rome, a city usually not associated with modern mobility solutions, announced Saturday plans to build a 150-kilometre network of bike lanes.
Milan is Italy’s most dynamic city, a hub for business, fashion and design industries. It is also the capital of Lombardy, the region that has bore the brunt of Italy’s epidemic.
More than one third of Italy’s virus cases and about about half of virus fatalities have been in Lombardy. The region has one of the worst air pollution problems in Europe.
According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) lockdown measures have dramatically improved air quality across Europe, but these gains may be reversed as economies open up again.
During April, on average, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution fell by 40 per cent and particular matter pollution by 10 per cent, resulting in 11,000 avoided deaths from air pollution, CREA said.
Italy is one of several European countries scheduled Monday to start relaxing lockdown restrictions, with potentially dire consequences for urban mobility.
Due to social distancing, far fewer people will be allowed to cram in buses, trams and metros, and many commuters might be tempted to drive, clogging up roads.
In Milan, public transport capacity will shrink from 1.4 million to 350,000-400,000 passengers a day, the city’s mobility commissioner Marco Granelli said in a video posted on Facebook.
“We are going to have 1 million people who will no longer be able to use public transport safely and therefore we will have to find alternatives for them,” Granelli said.
As part of the new transport strategy, the commissioner announced an expansion of sharing services for bicycles - which should double to 16,000 - and electric scooters, from 2,250 to 6,000.
But Cittadini per l’Aria, a combative local campaign group for clean air, argues that Milan has a long way to go before turning into a green city. “We have one of the highest number of cars per resident in Europe, double that of Berlin, and one tenth of Copenhagen’s bike lanes,” Anna Gerometta, one of the group’s leaders, told dpa.
She was particularly aggrieved by the decision not to reactivate anti-car measures that were suspended during the lockdown, such as the city’s congestion charge zone and bus lanes.
“City hall has been great at selling its transport strategy to the media, but in reality ... they are really missing a great opportunity,” Gerometta said.
