Reggio Emilia presents its new Biciplan 2024

In March 2024, Reggio Emilia approved its second edition of its cycling plan, the 'Biciplan 2024'. This new cycling plan is an integral part of a new Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) that has recently got the green light.

As a result of the first Biciplan dating back to 2008, Reggio Emilia developed a 267 kilometre long cycling network. The new Biciplan 2024 focuses on three main elements:

1. The adaptation, maintenance and integration of the existing cycling infrastructure;
2. The expansion of the network by new infrastructure elements;
3. Regulation of the road network to make it safe and appealing for cycling.

The plan will support the cycling network, recognised by three cycling infrastructure systems:

• Supercyclables - an 83 kilometre long network focusing on exclusively fast connections and cycling that is kept separate from intersections with motorised traffic. This system provides an attractive option to commute to work or education by cycling, as well as to quickly connect to the main functional hubs of the city.
• Urban cycle paths - approximately 100 kilometres of paths concentrating on providing good cycling conditions along the most important road routes accessing the city. They connect neighbourhoods and city districts working as a feeder system to these areas.
• Greenways tracks - form extra-urban routes of approximately 190 kilometres for pedestrians and cyclists connecting to places of artistic, natural, and landscape interest.

The new Biciplan also provides for a series of interventions aimed at controlling and/or reducing the speed of vehicles, giving continuity to the routes protecting transverse crossings and to highlight the entrance to residential areas. In this sense, the Biciplan fits into the context of the SUMP which is strongly oriented towards traffic calming.

To view the full Biciplan 2024, see here.