Measures to increase use of bikes post covid-19 emergency period

By project DEMO-EC

Published on 27 September 2022

Italy

Liguria

Genoa

About this good practice

After post covid-19 emergency period, there were need of increase the habits of sustainable mobility and Genoa Municipality organized many initiatives to sensitize citizens. The implementation of many bike lanes, during the Covid-19 period, in different city areas needed to sustain users to use new infrastructures and to have new habits.
Citizens were involved in many initiatives, schools participated in event to promote a healthier lifestyle and educate to more active and sustainable mobility habits.
Genoa Municipality events aimed to sensitize use of “bikebus” and “pedibus” by schoolchildren and to learn the basic rules for safety riding a bike in urban traffic.
Some actions are foreseen and implemented to facilitate and encourage employees also to use bicycles for trips home to work with own bike or bike sharing service (16 stations and new 100 bikes).
A parallel measure to increase cycling and encourage the behavior change was also to identify new bike parkings in the city to aim to have a lot of available spaces for bikes. The new bike parking areas have been identified in a central area or near to railway/metro stations and main urban services.
Others additionaly measures are the creation of new “30 zones” for a safer cycling and
a publication edited by Genoa University and Genoa Municipality, the “Guide on urban cycle paths”, to encourage correct use of bikes in urban areas.

Evidence of success

This good practice about initiaves for cycling is innovative for the city of Genoa, a city with a complex orography of the territory with a lot of slopes and narrow streets, a territory not very suitable for bikes.
The behaviour change is very difficult but the events organized have been a large successful among citizens who decide use the bike more often.

Potential for learning or transfer

This practice is potentially interesting also for other regions because it allows showing how with some initiatives that involve adults but also children can to increase cycling even in a city where is difficult to use a bike.