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Road safety, sustainable mobility and participation. These are the themes at the center of the initiatives promoted by FIAB Messina Ciclabile on the occasion of the European Mobility Week (SEM), scheduled from 16 to 22 September throughout Europe.
The Messina association particularly relaunches the theme of safety on city roads, proposing a moment of discussion between institutions, experts, associations and the university world.
The appointment is for Friday 18 September, at 10 am, at the Department of Political and Legal Sciences (SCIPOG), in via Malpighi 9, near piazza XX Settembre.
The discussion, moderated by Professor Domenica Farinella, will see the participation of the Deputy Police Commissioner and director of the Traffic Police Giovanni Martino, the engineer Carmelo Di Bartola, of the Provincial Transport Observatory, Giuseppina Cassaniti, provincial president of the Italian Road Victims Association, and the Sustainability delegate of the University of Messina, Adele Marino.
An appointment that comes at the end of a summer marked by numerous road accidents and, unfortunately, also by victims.
«It is a topic that we have already addressed several times in recent years – underlines the president of FIAB Messina Ciclabile, Fabrizio Murè – but this summer it has arisen again in a dramatic way, with numerous accidents and, unfortunately, also some victims».
For FIAB, road safety cannot be considered exclusively an issue linked to the protection of those who use bicycles, but must become an overall priority of urban mobility policies.
«Above all, we hope to find listening and collaboration from the institutions and the Municipality – continues Murè -. As an association we are naturally very attentive to the safety of those who travel by bicycle, but we know that it is first and foremost a global issue, which concerns everyone: pedestrians, motorists, motorcyclists, cyclists and users of public transport.”
Hence the need, according to FIAB Messina Ciclabile, to start a broader reflection on the ways in which the city organizes and manages daily travel.
«If we really want to reverse the trend of accidents – concludes Murè – we need an overall rethinking of city mobility, putting people’s safety at the center and greater attention to the most vulnerable road users».
SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER ALL IN THE SADDLE
Alongside the moment of discussion on road safety, FIAB Messina Ciclabile offers an event with a more convivial and participatory character.
On Sunday 20 September, starting at 9.30 from Piazza Duomo, a city bike ride of around 10 kilometers is planned, mainly on flat routes, with short stops at the Ringo and the MuMe – Regional Museum of Messina.
The initiative will also be an opportunity to celebrate the third anniversary of the birth of the association, meet citizens and enthusiasts, present the activities of FIAB Messina Ciclabile and launch the membership campaign for 2027.
«It is a way to celebrate three years of our association, make ourselves known even more and share our idea of more sustainable and safe mobility with the city», explains Murè.
The ride is open to everyone. FIAB Messina Ciclabile recommends participants to check in advance that their bicycle is in good condition and reminds them of the importance of strictly respecting the Highway Code.
The initiatives of the European Mobility Week thus represent, for FIAB Messina Ciclabile, a double moment: on the one hand the need to concretely address the issue of road safety, on the other the desire to promote a culture of sustainable mobility through the direct participation of citizens.