Cyclists mourn loss of bike ramps following Jubilee works

 ROME - Life grows tougher for cyclists on the banks of the Tiber. Due to the Jubilee works, several bike ramps have been removed leading to cyclists having to carry their bicycles on their shoulders. The problem is that in many cases the construction sites are finished, but the ramps have never been replaced.

 So the issue has ended up in the hands of Municipio I (the municipality most involved), which approved a motion requesting that these small but useful tools be put back in place. As the text states, “the removal of the ramps forces cyclists to carry their bicycles down the steps, subjecting them to wear and tear and possible damage over time” (the question arises whether they mean the bicycles or the cyclists themselves).

 ‘Soft mobility,’ the term which refers to all non-motorised and low-impact modes of transportation, is one of the objectives that the Gualtieri administration is pursuing, including by increasing the space for cycle paths in the city, in some cases with protests from motorists over the removal of parking spaces.

 At a time when Rome is completing major projects, it seems strange to think that everything can be solved with a 20-centimetre-wide concave iron bar.

rs