Como's bike ban: a mayor's collision with the tourist city

The mayor of Como has banned bicycles from the walled historical centre of the lakeside city, a decision he says is for public safety after he was struck by an electric bike. Alessandro Rapinese announced the measure, which comes into force this week, telling the BBC he knows "what it's like to be hit by one of these beasts". The move has drawn immediate criticism from cycling advocates and some residents, who see it as a disproportionate response to a single incident.

Como, a UNESCO World Heritage site at the foot of the Alps and the gateway to the lake that bears its name, has become a byword for the pressures of mass tourism in northern Italy. The narrow, cobbled streets of its centro storico are a daily bottleneck of foot traffic, and the addition of bicycles, particularly the faster electric models, has heightened tensions between those on foot and those on wheels. The mayor's ban is the latest attempt to impose order on a public space that is both a living neighbourhood and a stage for global tourism.