The Right to Park on Bicycle Lanes: A Case Study from Viale Belforte, Varese
In Italy, the phrase “I have nothing against bicycles, but…” often precedes objections to urban cycling infrastructure. Beneath these surface-level concerns—such as “they create traffic,” “no one uses them,” or “they harm local businesses”—lies a more straightforward issue: well-designed infrastructure physically prevents illegal activities.
The “Tragedy” of Viale Belforte in Varese
To understand this dynamic, consider the situation on Viale Belforte in Varese. The bicycle lane here isn’t a recent whim; it’s been in place for years, initially marked by a simple paint stripe. However, this painted lane was often ignored, with vehicles routinely parked within it, forcing cyclists and pedestrians to navigate around them, sometimes into oncoming traffic.
The turning point came when the local administration installed physical bollards to protect the lane. This move sparked immediate controversy, with claims that it disrupted traffic flow, reduced parking spaces, and threatened local commerce.
1 Incident in 16: The Numbers Behind the Emergency
Why did the administration take this step? Not out of spite for motorists, but due to pressing safety concerns. Statistics revealed that Viale Belforte accounted for one in every sixteen incidents involving pedestrians and cyclists in the city. This wasn’t just an aesthetic choice; it was an urgent safety intervention to protect vulnerable road users.
The Real Issue: The End of Impunity
The protests against the bollards highlight a deeper issue: the end of impunity for illegal parking. The new barriers didn’t take away space legitimately designated for cars; they simply enforced existing laws that prohibited parking in the bike lane. As local media pointed out, parking within the bike lane was illegal before the bollards were installed, and it remains illegal now.
When citizens or business owners vehemently oppose the installation of physical barriers protecting a bike lane, they are, in effect, defending an illegally acquired right: the right to park illegally.
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The “lost parking space” was often a spot within the bike lane, obstructing wheelchair access.
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The “harmed commerce” argument is based on the outdated theory that if a customer can’t park their SUV double-parked in front of the store, they will never enter.
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The “slowed traffic” was actually the result of the continuous slalom that vehicles had to perform to avoid their colleagues parked everywhere outside regular stalls.
Focus ➡️ Why Merchants Should Ask for Fewer Parking Spaces and More Bike Lanes (in 11 Studies)
The “Dangerous” Excuses
In this absurd theater, we reach peaks of pure unintentional comedy. Among the various criticisms that emerged in Varese, some lamented a supposed “danger for those exiting a tobacconist’s shop” who suddenly find themselves on a bike lane.
This logic is extraordinary: one worries about the atrocious danger of encountering a bicycle traveling at 15 km/h on a protected and well-marked lane, but until recently, it was considered absolutely normal, safe, and reassuring to exit the store and find a two-ton wall of metal parked on the sidewalk half a meter from the entrance.
The “Anti-Wild Parking” Protection Is Annoying
The Varese case is a clear demonstration of how, when a bike lane—specifically a pedestrian-cyclist path on the sidewalk—is protected with vertical elements, a small miracle occurs: public space is divided equitably, and the rules of the Road Code are enforced by geometry, without the need for a traffic officer on every block.
And this is exactly what disrupts those resisting change: they protest against protected bike lanes because the physical legality cannot be negotiated and does not admit the excuse of “it’s only five minutes, I swear I’ll leave soon.”
More Bollards, Less Hypocrisy
Municipal administrations across Italy should draw a valuable lesson from the Viale Belforte case: every time the installation of an anti-parking protection on a bike lane generates noise, indignation, and petitions, it means that the infrastructure is working exactly as it should.
The bollards defending the pedestrian-cyclist path “heal” an area affected by endemic parking and abuse of public land. Let’s stop calling “freedom of movement” what is, in all respects, the claim to park anywhere at the expense of the safety (and life) of others.
Highlights:
- Ciclopedonale della discordia a Varese: due cadute in un’ora nello stesso punto. È bufera sulla sicurezza di viale Belforte | Varese7Press, Published on Saturday, May 23
- Varese, bocciata la mozione anti-ciclabile di viale Belforte tra le proteste dei cittadini | Varese7Press, Published on Wednesday, April 22