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'We're not Denmark': Is Rome ready for a cycling 'revolution'?

AFP
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'We're not Denmark': Is Rome ready for a cycling 'revolution'?
Cycling appears to be becoming more popular in Italian cities amid the pandemic. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

With its cobbles, potholes and crazy traffic, Rome is not known as the ideal city for cyclists. But is that now changing?

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As elsewhere, in Rome streets emptied by Covid-19 restrictions have given cyclists room to breathe. But a new network of bike lanes and generous government subsidies to buy bicycles have also helped fuel a rise in the number of people biking in the city.

One of the converts is Valeria Picchi, a 36-year-old mother-of-two who sold her scooter last year and bought an e-bike with a kids' trailer.

"I feel like a rare bird," she told AFP. "People look at us, my kids are thrilled... I'm becoming a bit of a celebrity in the neighbourhood."

Many in Rome still balk at the idea of setting off on a bicycle into the throng of buzzing Vespas, dented old Fiats and other kings of the Roman traffic jungle.

OPINION: Why cycling in Rome isn’t as crazy as it sounds

Cyclists in the eternal city also have to brave streets so badly potholed that Honda, Piaggio and other motorbike manufacturers reportedly use them to test the limits of the suspension of their new models.

Picchi was persuaded by the fact that she can do much of her commute and the school run on a proper bike lane, protected from traffic - a privilege denied to most Romans, at least for the moment.

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She also took up a government scheme offering up to 500 euros ($600) to people buying a new or second-hand bike or electric scooter, which received 119,000 applications last year.

"A revolution is under way and I am part of it!" she exclaimed, wheeling her bike around the Villa Leopardi park in the northern Nomentano district on a sunny but chilly spring morning.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Italy’s new electric scooter craze

"We're not Denmark, we also need a revolution in our way of thinking, but we will slowly, slowly get there."

Some think the progress is too slow.

"Five years ago you hardly saw any bicycles in Rome. Nobody used them except for a ride in the park on Sundays," said Roberto Scacchi, regional head of pro-environment lobby Legambiente.

But speaking to AFP from a main road near the Termini train station, where a bike lane was recently added, he said: "I don't see any revolution... It's still one bicycle for every 100 cars." 

People ride their bikes across the Sant'Angelo bridge in Rome. Photo: Tiziana FABI/AFP

According to the European Cyclists' Federation, which has collated data about European capitals from different years, only 0.6 percent of Romans cycle regularly, against 49 percent of Copenhagen residents.

Mayor Virginia Raggi last year announced 150 kilometres (90 miles) of new bike lanes, adding to an existing network of around 250 kilometres, and getting the city closer to its own ideal target of 500 kilometres.

But Legambiente complains that just some 15 kilometres have been completed so far, and most of them are "temporary", meaning a line of paint on the side of the road, with no barriers to protect cyclists from cars.

READ ALSO: Rome among worst cities in Europe for road safety, traffic and pollution: Greenpeace

One major cycle lane in the north of the city abruptly turns into cobbles at points - rather than being replaced with tarmac, they have simply been painted over.

Giulio Maselli, a bike shop owner in central Rome, reported a jump in sales of at least 50 per cent last year, but said Rome urgently needs to upgrade its cycling infrastructure to keep up with demand.

"Otherwise this bubble is destined to burst," he said.

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People ride bikes along the bank of the River Tiber in Rome. Photo: Tiziana FABI/AFP

Local authorities insist they are on it. Stefano Brinchi, head of municipal transport agency Roma Mobilita, said the city was working to foster an "irreversible" shift towards greener mobility.

"We need to dispel the myth that Rome should be considered a bike-unfriendly city," he said, pointing to, among other things, the grand plan of a 45-kilometre cycling ring road around the city.

The so-called GRAB (Great Bicycle Ring Road) would link the Colosseum, the Vatican area and the hip Trastevere district to areas in the east of Rome, like Tor Pignattara, and big parks in the north, like the Aniene nature reserve.

READ ALSO: These are the most (and least) eco-friendly towns in Italy

According to campaigners, the project is fully funded, officially endorsed by the city of Rome, and could be ready by the end of 2022.

"It's going be the most beautiful cycle path in the world," Legambiente's Scacchi said. "Today, unfortunately, it's the most beautiful cycle path, but in the virtual world."

By AFP's Alvise Armellini

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cppatane 2021/04/21 16:00
this is great! we need to reduce car use in cities and encourage more biking and walking, ala the Danes and Dutch. They have the right idea! much healthier, more people friendly, and good for the environment.

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