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Can Milan Become Europe’s Most Bike-Friendly City?

Italy’s most populous metro area will build hundreds of kilometers of protected cycling lanes to ward off worsening pollution from cars and trucks.

Bikes for rent parked near Duomo Cathedral in Milan. The province is looking to complete a network of protected cycling lanes by 2035.

Bikes for rent parked near Duomo Cathedral in Milan. The province is looking to complete a network of protected cycling lanes by 2035.

Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

Within 15 years, Milan should have one of the most comprehensive networks of protected bicycle lanes in all of Europe.

When complete in 2035, the network — approved by the Metropolitan City of Milan in November 2021 and due to deliver its first major cycle highways by this summer — will provide Italy’s most populous metro area with 750 kilometers (466 miles) of segregated lanes. Dubbed the Cambio Biciplan (the “Change Bike Plan”) the 250 million-euro ($285 million) project’s target exceeds even the 680 kilometers of tracks planned for Europe’s current trailblazer for grand scale bike infrastructure, Paris and its surrounding metro area.