Beginning in September, Como mayor Alessandro Rapinese has ordered a ban on all bicycles across approximately 30 streets in the historic Italian city’s center. The measure follows a June collision where Rapinese was struck by an electric bike outside city hall, drawing sharp pushback from local activists and delivery workers.
The lakeside city of Como is bracing for a shift in urban mobility after Mayor Alessandro Rapinese announced a prohibition on cycling through the fortified historic core. Set to take effect in September, the regulation forces cyclists on both traditional push bikes and e-bikes to dismount and walk their vehicles across roughly 30 designated streets.
The policy forms part of a broader package of new traffic regulations designed to manage growing tourist traffic, which also imposes stricter controls on cars and vans entering the city’s Limited Traffic Zone.
A Collision Outside City Hall and the Mayor Defense
Rapinese did not conceal the personal motivation behind the ordinance. The decision traces back to a June incident when the mayor was leaving city hall and collided with an e-bike, an event that occurred shortly after his executive administration met to discuss downtown traffic restrictions. The individual operating the bicycle during the accident has not been publicly identified.
“I’ve been accused of adopting this measure because I was hit by an electric bike – certainly, that is true. People act based on their own experiences and I know what it’s like to be hit by one of these beasts.”
Alessandro Rapinese, Mayor of Como, via Ansa
Defending the rule in a self-produced online video series known as RapiNews24, Rapinese argued that the intervention was long overdue for public safety in a densely packed tourist destination. Pointing out that Italy’s highway code makes no legal distinction between traditional bicycles and e-bikes, he maintained that local authorities must act proactively. Rented e-scooters faced a similar outright ban in Como city centre back in 2022.
“In other cities, a child ends up in hospital and then the politicians take action. Here, I didn’t even end up in hospital. I was hit by a bike, I gathered information, and that’s where the measure came from.”
Alessandro Rapinese, Mayor of Como, via Ansa
Immediate Political Backlash and Protest Plans
The mayor’s refusal to back-pedal has united local civic groups, delivery workers, and opposition politicians in condemnation. Critics emphasize that several roads impacted by the ban rank among the widest thoroughfares in the old town, serving as vital, smooth corridors for residents commuting toward Lake Como.
Opposition figures and community organizations argue the ordinance penalizes affordable, eco-friendly transport while threatening the livelihoods of shop owners and delivery riders who rely on bicycles for daily commerce. Activists have already circulated an opposition petition, and local cyclists are organizing a protest ride through the affected streets in mid-September.
Vincenzo Falanga, president of the local civic organization Nova Como, criticized the administration for turning individual problems into collective ones. Meanwhile, the Como branch of the centre-left Democratic Party argued that Como deserves a mobility system that ensures pedestrian safety without penalising residents, workers and those who choose sustainable transport. Even right-wing political figures, including Paolo Emilio Russo, a politician with the rightwing Forza Italia, expressed personal sympathy over the mayor’s collision while dismissing the resulting ban itself as crazy
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Broader European Context for Micromobility Regulations
Como’s crackdown mirrors an escalating debate across European urban centers regarding the rapid expansion of e-bikes, delivery services, and personal mobility devices. Municipalities from the UK to continental Europe have increasingly grappled with how to balance pedestrian safety with green transit mandates, often implementing targeted restrictions on pedestrianized high streets and historic squares.
Yet by tethering a major municipal infrastructure policy directly to a personal accident involving the chief executive, Como’s administration has turned a routine traffic management debate into a polarized local flashpoint. With protests scheduled and delivery workers facing logistical hurdles ahead of the September enforcement date, the mayor’s decree faces a turbulent rollout.
