Como mayor bans 'beasts' in city centre after being hit by bikeAlessandro Rapinese issues the prohibition for the historic city centre after an encounter with a cyclist last month.3 hrs agoEurope

Como mayor bans 'beasts' in city centre after being hit by bike.

Key points

• Paris lately clamped down on safety requirements for e-scooter users, having banned rental e-scooters outright in 2023.
• The Nova Como association has organised a protest bike ride for 12 September.
• Rapinese explained his decision in a video as part of a series of online videos he produces himself, known as RapiNews24.
• The new traffic regulations for the ZTL mean some vehicles will require an annual permit and, for each day of entry, a €3 (£2.60) permit.
• The mayor of Como has banned riding bicycles in certain areas of the historic Italian city after he was hit by an electric one.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Como has banned riding bicycles in certain areas of the historic Italian city after he was hit by an electric one.

Alessandro Rapinese remarked the ban was necessary to improve public safety. It means from September, cyclists will have to dismount through an area of around 30 streets.

He informed Italian news agency Ansa: "People act based on their own experiences and I know what it's like to be hit by one of these beasts."

Meanwhile, a number of other local authorities around Europe, including in the UK, have restricted where and how e-bikes and other single-person vehicles can be employed.

In practice, the measure proposed by Rapinese is part of a package of new traffic regulations, establishing a Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) to manage tourist expansion, and which impose stricter rules on cars and vans in the city centre.

Plenty of of the roads covered by the ban are the widest in the old town and are popular with delivery drivers.

As the Italian highway code does not distinguish between models, the measure applies to both electric and push bikes.

He recounted an incident in which he had been leaving city hall in July and collided with an e-bike shortly after his administration had discussed traffic restrictions in the city centre. The cyclist involved in the collision has not been identified.

"In this case, I didn't even end up in the hospital, " Rapinese remarked. "I was hit by a bike. I gathered information, and that's where the measure came from."

Como's Roman-walled centre is already covered by a limited-traffic zone, and bicycles have become a go-to method of transport for locals.

In practice, the new traffic regulations for the ZTL mean some vehicles will require an annual permit and, for each day of entry, a €3 (£2.60) permit.

While tourists staying in hotels will only be able to drive into the centre if their accommodation has parking, deliveries to shops and restaurants will only be allowed between 06: 00 and 23: 00.

Notably, the ban has faced a backlash from locals and an online petition has been introduced to block the resolution.

Civitas Como, a local citizens group, has challenged the legitimacy of ban, describing it as "questionable and erroneous".

In practice, the Nova Como association has organised a protest bike ride for 12 September.

Como is not the first Italian city to restrict bicycles in historic or busy parts. In Palermo, bikes have been restricted in some sections of the main streets since 2023.

Meanwhile, Paris lately clamped down on safety requirements for e-scooter users, having banned rental e-scooters outright in 2023. Venice bans sizeable tourist groups and loudspeakers. Italy restores lucky testicles on bull mosaic worn down by tourists. Tour of Britain inspiring more Muslim women to cycle.

In short, como mayor bans ' beasts' in city centre after being hit by bikeAlessandro is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.