The mayor of Como has banned cycling in roughly 30 streets of the northern Italian city’s historic center after being hit by an e-bike this summer. Riders will have to dismount and walk their bikes through the area from September 2026.
DR reports that Mayor Alessandro Rapinese has declared the streets of the walled old town bike-free zones. The rules cover both ordinary bicycles and electric bikes, with no distinction between the two.
The decision follows a collision earlier in the summer, in which Rapinese himself was struck by an e-bike outside city hall. Responding to critics, he told the Italian news agency Ansa that people act on their own experience, and that he knows what it is like to be hit by one of those machines.
According to the BBC, the cycling ban is part of a wider package of traffic rules for the city center, tied to Como’s restricted traffic zone, the ZTL. The BBC adds that the cyclist who hit the mayor has never been identified.
Il Post reports that the municipal council approved the changes through deliberation no. 178 on August 5, 2026. The same rules tighten delivery hours and access conditions for vehicles in the Roman-origin walled center. Per Il Post, the accident happened on July 18 and left the mayor with bruises and contusions, without hospitalization.
Counts of the affected streets differ between outlets. The BBC and Il Post refer to around 30 streets, while Corriere della Sera‘s Milan edition mentions 35 streets and squares. La Provincia di Como lists 31 restricted areas, reflecting different ways of grouping streets and piazzas.
Petition and protest ride planned
Activists have launched a petition against the measure, and a protest ride through the banned streets is planned for when the rules take effect, according to The Guardian. Il Giorno reports that cycling groups are organizing a mass ride through the walled center on September 1.
Opposition politicians, businesses and delivery riders accuse Rapinese of pursuing a personal vendetta against cyclists, since several of the affected streets are common shortcuts through the city. As reported by The Guardian, critics also argue the ban penalizes a cheap and low-emission way of moving around the center.
Rapinese has not withdrawn the measure. He says it is about safety in the narrow, tourist-heavy streets of the center, and notes that in other cities politicians act only once a child ends up in the hospital, while he was not hospitalized at all. Electric scooters were already barred from Como’s center in 2022.
DR notes that Copenhagen is running its own debate over cargo bikes, e-bikes and tourists on two wheels, while Como has now moved to regulation.
