uEleven new members and 168 renewals: there are almost 180 Municipalities that this year have won the recognition of cycling Municipalities according to Fiab. Since 2017, the Italian Environment and Bicycle Federation has been evaluating the commitment of the territories in promoting a sustainable mobility model.
«Not a prize, but a tool», as explained Alessandro Tursi, President of Fiab. A tool developed to help administrations evaluate how much their territory is really “bike-friendly” and accompany them on a path of improvement.
Bike-friendly cities: the “cycling Municipalities” according to Fiab
Fiab assigns a score from 1 to 5 to the territories, based on an objective analysis of various aspects of 4 areas. And that is urban mobility (cycle paths urban planning, infrastructure, traffic calming). Governance (urban mobility policies and services). Communication and promotion. Bicycle touring.
This year there are 13 territories which, thanks to the activities undertaken, have obtained a “promotion”. Florence, Bergamo and Treviso have gone from 3 to 4 bike smiles. Score also achieved by Fano (Pesaro Urbino). Misano Adriatico (Rimini). San Felice sul Panaro (Modena), Sissa Trecasali (Parma) and Tortoreto (Teramo).
Not just cycle paths. The bike smiles that reward sustainability
Fossalta di Piave (Venice) and Martinsicuro (Teramo) achieved 3 bike smiles, while Gioia del Colle (Bari), Porto San Giorgio (Fermo) and Roseto degli Abruzzi (Teramo) achieved 2 bike smiles.
Again, they are confirmed with the maximum score of 5 bike smiles Bolzano, Cesena, Ferrara, Pesaro, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia and Rimini, together with the municipalities of Arborea (Oristano), Cavallino-Treporti (Venice), Favignana (Trapani), Grado (Gorizia) and Merano (Bolzano).
#Città30immediately: the bill for the 30 km zones
Fiab is particularly busy, in this period, also on the theme of Città 30. Together with other associations gathered in the Platform #City30immediately (Legambiente, Asvis, Kyoto Club, Salvaiciclisti, Michele Scarponi Foundation, AMODO, Clean Cities Campaign) wrote a bill that was presented in Parliament on 28 July.
Based on a similar document already adopted in Spain, the proposal aims to promote road safety in cities, through the moderation of speed in urban centers and the regeneration of public space. In essence, the inversion between the rule and the exception in urban speed limits with respect to the current highway code is being requested. Instead of the 50 km/h generally valid except for the “30 zones”, the norm in the city becomes 30 km/h, except only the axes classified by the Municipalities as fast-moving, with at least two lanes in each direction, kept at 50 km/h.
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