The new Highway Code, first desired by Transport Minister Matteo Salvini and about to be approved by Parliament, risks “eliminating” hundreds and hundreds of cycle paths already present in municipalities throughout Italy. The ANCI has been sounding the alarm at the ministry in recent weeks, and today the security councilor of the municipality of Milan, Marco Granelli, publicly denounces the disorder that threatens cities. If adopted as is, the new Code, instead of making a leap forward, “will make us go backwards on cycle paths”, says the councilor to the local edition of Republic. Which details the problem: in Article 8, the new Highway Code would prohibit “light” cycle paths. That is, those marked by simple paint on the asphalt. “Mixed” cycle-public transport lanes would also be prohibited. Rules probably designed to better protect cyclists, since the cycle path only those delimited by curbs will now be allowed. But the perverse effect of the new provisions risks being the opposite. In Milan alone, dozens of kilometers of already existing cycle paths (79 to be precise) risk becoming out of bounds. It is not clear what exactly this would involve at the moment: to understand it, we will have to wait for the regulations related to the new Code. The Municipality would probably have to carry out new adaptation work, including at least the addition of specific road signs, or even the insertion of curbs or other protection systems. But we cannot exclude the possibility that the new text will simply make certain cycle paths unusable.
The Municipality's appeal to the Ministry
So what to do? Grains from the columns of Republic makes public his appeal to Salvini: “Like Anci, we have once again reaffirmed the need for a more in-depth reflection. Which does not mean reviewing everything: the best is the enemy of the good and if we wait for perfection we no longer achieve it. But let's agree with the Municipalities, the two Ministries of the Interior and Transport and the associations to see if there are two or three points on which we can still discuss”. And the first priority on the agenda should be the “safeguarding” of the existing light cycle paths. The problem is that the Highway Code has already been approved in its current version in the Chamber and is currently under discussion in the Senate. For the Milanese mayor, an obstacle that can be circumvented. “The amendment can be quickly adopted in the Senate and then ratified by the Chamber”. Also because, according to experts, this rule is questionable even in principle. “This tightening is motivated by presumed safety reasons, but real European and Italian data, such as those from Bologna, indicate that the cycle paths “They increase the flow of bicycles without increasing accidents,” says road safety expert Andrea Colombo. Will the Ministry of Transport and the League leaders be ready to listen to the alarm and reopen the Highway Code file?
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