Rimini still among the most bike friendly cities in Italy • newsrimini.it

For the third consecutive year, Rimini achieved 5 ‘bike smiles’, the maximum score awarded to the territories by the Italian Environment and Bicycle Federation as part of the Cycling Municipalities 2024 initiative. Infrastructure investments and obtaining the 2026 edition of Velocity from 16 to 19 June 2026 will have an impact on the vote.

Also in 2024, Rimini confirms itself as one of the most bike friendly cities in Italy and looks ahead to 2026 with new infrastructure projects and major events dedicated to two wheels. Rimini is among the sixty Italian cities to have received the 2024 yellow flag today for the seventh edition of FIAB-Comuni Ciclabili, the recognition of the Italian Environment and Bicycle Federation – already assigned from 2017 to today to 180 cities – which evaluates and certifies the commitment of Italian territories in promoting cycling as a model of sustainable mobility, a fundamental choice for the successful outcome of the virtuous transition of our cities. The first 42 bicycle-friendly city awards for the year 2024 had already been assigned by FIAB in the opening event last February, while the closing ceremony is scheduled for the summer, with the delivery of the last yellow flags.

The score attributed to the territories is assigned on the basis of an objective analysis of the many aspects that interact with the bicycle as a sustainable means of transport.

There are four areas of evaluation: urban mobility (urban cycle paths/infrastructures, traffic calming and speed), governance (urban mobility policies and services), communication & promotion and, finally, cycle tourism.

In 2020 the total km of cycle paths were 123, in 2023 they are close to 135 km, a network of routes that connects the sea, the city and the countryside.

Among the interventions carried out between 2023 and in this first part of the year are the cycle-pedestrian underpasses in the Padulli area and in correspondence with the roundabout in via Coriano, the bridge over the Ausa diverter in correspondence with the Grotta Rossa and the cycle path on the mountain side of Piazza Cesare Battisti, while the cycle-pedestrian underpass in Via della Fiera and at the SS16-Consolare San Marino – Via della Repubblica roundabout is being completed, as part of the ongoing program of interventions on the Adriatica State Road. To these works, particularly focused on the mending in terms of sustainable mobility between the city upstream and the seaside city of State Road 16, is added the completion of the Parco del Mare, the urban green infrastructure which has transformed the Rimini waterfront, freeing it from cars and that by the beginning of the summer it will add a new piece with the conclusion of the stretch between Piazzale Gondar and Via Siracusa.

The Bike Park, a unique structure at national level strategically positioned in front of the train station, where citizens and tourists can discover and find an integrated set of services and opportunities to move easily around the area on horseback in a strategic place due to its proximity at the station.

To affect the maintenance of “five bike smiles” also assigned by FIAB was the great effort for Rimini to obtain the 2026 edition of Velocity, the world cycling summit which returns to Italy after 35 years: a great opportunity for the territory and for the country. The event will take place from 16 to 19 June 2026 and will bring over 1,500 delegates from over 60 countries to the city, for what represents the most important moment of knowledge exchange for those involved in advocacy, administrations, political decision makers, the academic world and sector companies.

The FIAB-ComuniCiclabili initiative sponsored by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, ECF-European Cyclists’ Federation, ANCI-National Association of Italian Municipalities, INU-National Institute of Urban Planning, Association of Virtuous Municipalities, ALI-Italian Local Autonomies, Cities on Bikes, World Cycling Alliance and WWF.

www.comuniclabili.it