Italian cities seek to retain bike lanes after lockdown

Italian cities have announced plans to keep temporary bike lanes in place after lockdown measures are lifted.

Cities across the world have implemented temporary bike lanes in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, as alternative means of travel have been severely restricted. With public transport severely restricted and unnecessary private car use being discouraged, people have been cycling more often as a means of getting to the shops and, for essential workers, to work.

Now Turin and Rome have announced plans to retain temporary bike lanes once lockdown measures begin to be lifted. Retaining these bike lanes has been proposed to cut car congestion and help people maintain social distance as lockdown measures are eased off in the coming weeks. You can read more about the proposals in Turin and Rome here and here.

Italy was the first European country to be severely hit by COVID-19 and has seen lockdown measures in place for weeks to combat the spread of the virus.