Local authorities announced on Tuesday that 35 kilometres of streets throughout the city will be made more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists in the coming months.
The new Strade Aperte (Open Streets) scheme aims to reallocate street space from cars to pedestrians and cyclists, making it safer and easier for people to travel without vehicles once lockdown is lifted.
It will include temporary cycle lanes, new, widened pavements, pedestrian and cyclist priority streets, and reduced speed limits in the city centre, officials said.
Under the impending “Phase 2” of Italy’s nationwide lockdown, businesses are expected to start gradually reopening from May 3.
But there are concerns about a spike in infection due to crowding on public transport as people return to work, particularly in densely-populated Milan.
Milan transport authorities have confirmed metro services in the city will initially run at 30 per cent capacity in order to allow social distancing as people begin to coexist with the virus.
This means that the Milan metro will only be able to carry 400 thousand people per day, far fewer than the usual 1.4 million.
The fear is that this could result in an increase in privately-owned vehicles on the road.
Work on the project is expected to begin in May and will continue over the European summer.
It is hoped that the eco-friendly plan will be adopted in other cities in Italy, and around the world.
