“Mayors, get on your bikes and show what it means to ride in your city”. This is the call for “slow mobility” launched by the “Sindaco pedala!” campaign for the summer of 2021. As you can guess from its title, the project, promoted by the Comuni virtuosi (Virtuous Municipalities) association together with the Sottosopra agency, encourages mayors to commit to using bicycles for a week to achieve three objectives choosing from several options, such as: testing a bike path, “bike to work”, joining a BICIBUS group on the home-school route, just to name a few examples.
The idea is that the mayor concerned will be able to make an actual observation and assess the effectiveness of his/her own urban plan. Challenged by the Comuni Virtuosi, the mayor will share his or her experience via social media, the press office or the municipality’s website, and then issue the challenge to another mayor who, in turn, will take up the challenge. So far, two weeks after the launch of the campaign, many mayors have expressed their enthusiasm on social networks.
The project is supported by several associations that promote sustainable mobility, such as CIAB, Club delle Imprese amiche della bicicletta (Bicycle Enthusiast Companies); FIAB, Federazione italiana ambiente e bicicletta (Italian Federation of Environment and Bicycle Enthusiasts); Genitori antismog (Parents against Smog); and Legambici. The first ten municipalities, located throughout the country, that have committed to testing the project are: Bergamo, Biccari (FG), Malegno (BS), Lecce, Parma, San Lazzaro di Savena (BO), San Bellino (RO), Sestri Levante (GE), Spilamberto (MO) and Trento.
All the information about the project is available on the official website for the campaign.
