The Municipality of Trento is making cycling a key tool in its mitigation plan
The Municipality of Trento is contributing to the 2030 climate targets of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) approved by the City Council Resolution on 15/11/2022 in line with the ambitious European objectives of the Covenant of Mayors Europe.
The Municipality of Trento joined the Covenant of Mayors with the aim of directing the territory towards sustainable development and pursuing the objectives of energy saving, use of renewable sources, reduction of CO2 emissions and climate adaptation, involving all citizens in the development and implementation phase of the "Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan" so that from joining the Pact a virtuous circle could spread the culture of energy saving, environmental sustainability and climate adaptation throughout the territory.
One of the underlying themes of the city’s mitigation action plan is the fight against climate change by increasing energy efficiency, reducing energy consumption, and transitioning to renewable forms of energy. In this regard, the Plan defines a broad set of actions including sustainable mobility, waste management and the increase and diversification of renewable energy.
Trento transport sector accounts for 35% of total emissions. This is why the Municipality listed sustainable mobility strategies as important mitigation actions through its disclosure on CDP-ICLEI Track. The SECAP objectives include expanding cycling paths, parks and stations, aiming to make them more attractive, competitive and safe.
For this purpose, the Municipality of Trento has invested and dedicated extreme attention to cycling by installing a series of cross-connections between north-south cycle routes. It has also created cycling parks with parking spots where citizens can leave their bikes. To date, a total of 72,652.33 metres of cycling paths have been built in the municipality.
“The Urban Plan for Sustainable Mobility, currently used by the Municipality of Trento, aims to change the city's "modal split" by gaining 10-14 percentage points for sustainability. To do this, it implements a series of actions that contribute synergistically to the achievement of this objective. The actions in terms of cycling are many, first of all the drafting of the Biciplan document which defines 14 cycle itineraries, each distinguished by a colour and a number, which develop partly on existing routes and partly on new ones, reconnecting the existing cycle network. The “photograph of the city" present in the PUMS shows how the cycle mobility of the municipal area brings about 25,000 pax/day, a small number if compared with the 386,000 pax/day of the private car. The studies carried out in the municipal area show that more than 50% of internal vehicular movements are carried out on trips of less than 5 km: this is therefore the component that the administration intends to move on the "bike", thus contributing to modifying the “modal split” of the city”. Head of the Sustainable Mobility Office of the Municipality of Trento, Ing. Valentina Benoni
Given the increasing number of urban and extra-urban cycling paths, Trento has become one of the most virtuous Italian municipalities in terms of cycling. In 2022, and for the fifth consecutive year, the Municipality of Trento took part in the ‘Comune ciclabile’ Award competition, obtaining a good score in the standings.
Trento focused in recent years on building a culture of cycling and walking through numerous initiatives such as the implementation of the ‘Il Trentino pedala’ cycling competition that rewards those who cycle at least 100 kilometres. Those who have registered at least 100 kilometres on the competition webpage participated in the prize draw. The city’s initiatives have also involved children and youth, through ‘Giretto d'Italia’ , an initiative that also took place in 2022, where teachers, pupils and staff were invited to cycle to school. This national initiative, promoted by Legambiente, aims to promote and spread cycling widely in urban areas, especially as a means of transport to work and offers to the participants as a reward a pink t-shirt, the typical colour of the Giro D'Italia race.
In 2022 the “Trento in Bici” event was organized in which a large area of the city is closed to traffic and a bicycle route about 7km long is organized within this area, with arrival and departure in the most beautiful squares of the city. The "Bimbi in Bici" event was also organized in 2022; the event takes the form of a safe ride along the city streets, while the "Gara a scuola senz’auto" is a race between classes held twice a year, in which children and families are invited to travel from home to school using only sustainable methods.
Since 2004, the “A Piedi Sicuri” project is coordinated by the Youth Policies Project of the Municipality of Trento, targeting the city's primary schools. It aims to increase the sustainable mobility of children on their way to school. This helps to reduce vehicular traffic in the vicinity of schools, promote knowledge of the neighbourhood and encourage children to become more autonomous.
Again, to promote cycle mobility, the Municipality of Trento has recently installed bicycle shelters called "cycloboxes" in the city area. These are modular and easily removable structures (therefore easily relocatable according to changing needs) in steel, wood and glass for video-monitored parking of one's bicycle. They are located in strategic points of the city, including abutment car parks and intermodal exchange points. Access is only digitally via the App.
The Municipality of Trento, through
these initiatives, has demonstrated that urban mobility can change for the
better to the benefit of vulnerable groups and citizens.
CDP-ICLEI Track 2022: https://data.cdp.net/
Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP): https://mycovenant.eumayors.eu/storage/web/mc_cove...
Covenant of Mayors Europe: https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/region/euro...
Comuni Ciclabili FIAB: http://www.comuniciclabili.it
Trentino Pedala: http://www.areeprotette.provincia.tn.it/incentivi_...
https://www.trentinopedala.tn.it/
Giretto d’Italia: https://trentogiovani.it/Attivita/Iniziative/Giret...
Giro D'Italia: https://www.giroditalia.it/en/
Bambini A Piedi Sicuri: https://trentogiovani.it/Attivita/Iniziative/Bambi....
Legambiente: https://www.legambiente.it/