How many more bike deaths?In Milan, street violence is an emergency

“No more deaths on bikes”:the Milanese cycling community is calling for immediate action following the killing of the 28-year-old who was hit by a heavy vehicle, the sixth victim in recent months.

Milan and cycling deaths.In the avant-garde Italian city, where the future is built with skyscrapers, vertical forests and new construction sites, one dies on the street one late summer morning, while cycling under the sun in the streets of the centre, run over by a heavy vehicle without realizing he hooks, chews and spits out yet another body, yet another victim of road violence.This time the tragedy befell a young woman.This is what happened yesterday, August 29th, a Francesca Quaglia, 28 year old from Bologna, translator specializing in Scandinavian languages.

Today, however, the news of one woman on bicycle hit by a light pole knocked down by a car which overturned in Corso XXII marzo, also in the city centre.The 42-year-old woman was rescued by 118 staff and is in serious condition at Niguarda hospital.

Faced with this situation, the associations that deal with active mobility reiterate theabsence of institutions and the lack of measures to stop what is a continuous massacre.It will start from October 1st 2023 the obligation for heavy vehicles to install anti-blind spot sensors.On this too we gather the point of view of the associations that express doubts:an immediate change of course is needed to make the streets safer, redesign public space, reverse the scale of priorities.And perhaps this is also what makes you think and leaves you dismayed:seeing Milan go fast, building, growing, while people are crushed and forgotten.Here we want to remind you once again of these "bike deaths".In addition to Francesca Quaglia, they have been killed in recent months Veronica d'Incà (February 1), Christina Scotland (April 20), Tianjiao Li (8 May), Alfina D'Amato (22 June), Silvia Salvarani And Luca Marengoni (November).

Milan, the sixth victim of heavy vehicles in recent months

According to the story of a witness, Francesca Quaglia would have been hooked by the vehicle as it left when it changed from red to green.He was therefore near the traffic light to the left of the vehicle via Caldara, in the central area of Roman Gate.The girl, according to the testimony, also made a last desperate attempt to stop the truck from moving, hitting the left side of the truck with her hand, but the driver didn't notice anything.A “announced” tragedy, the sixth to have occurred in the last ten months for the same reason:the presence on the street of heavy vehicles, large, too large for a city that should be people-friendly.Concrete mixers or construction vehicles used to move materials on construction sites, which are difficult to move, where the driver drives at a height of two meters with a reduced view from "blind" spots, are lethal when mixed with cyclists, pedestrians, people in wheelchairs, people on scooters, more vulnerable road users.For this reason, once again we cannot speak of "accidents" but of one massacre which shocks the citizens and in particular the Milanese cycling community which has been organizing demonstrations for months to demand respect for a fundamental right: move safely in public spaces.

No more road deaths, no more bicycle deaths.The voice of the associations

The Milanese cycling community yesterday gathered in an informal gathering at the event site and then pedaled up to Palazzo Marino and shouted in unison "Enough!" under the windows of the town hall where the writing "How many more deaths?“.

There FIAB Local Italian Environment and Bicycle Federation makes us reflect on the fact that Milanese citizens today are almost afraid to cycle through the streets of the city. Laura Russo, vice president of Fiab Milano Ciclobby, states that "the number of victims is alarming and instills fear in those who decide to use the bicycle for urban travel every day" and then adds:“We remember that Fiab Milano has been asking the institutions for measures for years to ensure that the street is a safe place.As?Through the creation of cycle paths who do not abandon the cyclist at intersections, investing inroad education and above all limiting the speed of cars in the city.For us, bikes and safety must not be an oxymoron."

On the topic of mandatory sensors from October 1st the association is expressed Do you know what you can?, one of the promoters of the City of People campaign which for over a year has been asking the municipality for a change in sustainable mobility. Tommaso Goisis and Paola Bonini in this regard they highlight a problem:“Before January 2025 and 2026 the obligation will not really be in force, but it will be enough to demonstrate that you have ordered the sensors.The new tragedy confirms that we cannot wait that long but immediate measures are needed from both the Ministry of Transport and the Municipality: mandatory training for drivers, speed limit at 30 kilometers per hour throughout Milan, time limitations.Otherwise, in the streets of Milan, people on foot and by bicycle will continue to risk their lives in the disturbing sensation of the absence of the institutions."

Even theassociation Antismog Parents, through the words of the president Lucia Robatto, reiterates Milan's delay on the topic of sustainable mobility:“This unforgivable delay is presenting us with a series of fatal accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists, a number not recorded in any European city. It is therefore necessary to identify temporary measures to allow us to get through 2024 without further tragedies.Let's ask the mayor Beppe Sala, to the Mobility Councilor Arianna Censi and to the Security Councilor Marco Granelli a public intervention that presents a emergency plan to be implemented in a very short time with dates and immediate solutions such as time restrictions, mapping of construction sites to establish passage routes that are signposted and do not interfere with light traffic, together with any other effective solution".And then he concludes:“No economic activity can prevail over a human life.”

For today, Wednesday 30 August, the associations have called a new garrison in Corso XXII marzo on the corner with Piazzale Emilia at 7pm.