Rome mayor dubs the network a "bicipolitana" that will more than quadruple the length of Rome's existing cycle routes.Rome has presented an ambitious 10-year plan to expand the city's cycling network to more than 1,500km, in a move city hall says will transform how residents move around the capital.The Biciplan, unveiled on Thursday by mayor Roberto Gualtieri and mobility chief Eugenio Patanè, sets out to add 185km of new cycle paths within three years, followed by a further 265km over the following two years. Combined with the 330km of paths that already exist, this would bring the total to 780km by 2028, before rising to a final target of 1,575km within a decade.The plan envisages a system modelled on a surface-level underground network, which Gualtieri described during the presentation as a "bicipolitana". The system is intended to link the city centre with outlying neighbourhoods and will be backed by new infrastructure including maps, bike racks, rest areas, cycle-pedestrian bridges and additional bike parking at metro stations. The network will combine direct routes along main roads for commuters travelling to work or school with more leisure-oriented itineraries for cycling tourism. These include the GRAB (Grande Raccordo Anulare delle Bici), the Ciclovia Tirrenica, and a roughly 30km route linking the Colosseum to the sea at Ostia via the archaeological site of Ostia Antica.The GRAB, a roughly 50km cycling ring connecting central Rome to its outer districts via the Colosseum, the Appian Way, the Parco degli Acquedotti, the Quadraro and Prati, broke ground in July 2024, with its first stretch opened in April 2025. It is designed to connect with public transport at several points, including seven metro stations across all three lines.The Ciclovia Tirrenica, meanwhile, is a coastal route stretching around 1,200km from Ventimiglia on the French border to Rome, of which more than 700km is already rideable. Its final stretch within Rome's administrative boundary, known as "Roma-Fiumicino", covers around 12km along the banks of the Tiber and its tributary, the Rio Galeria, crossing the monumental Mezzocammino bridge before reaching the border with the comune of Fiumicino. New works planned along this stretch include a ramp onto the bridge, covered rest stops and a cycle-pedestrian footbridge over the Rio Galeria.City hall estimates the overall cost of building the cycling network at around €470 million. Funding for the plan's short-term phase, due for completion by 2027, has already been secured and largely allocated through tenders, while resources for the medium and long-term phases through to 2030 - requiring roughly €40 million a year - are yet to be identified.The Biciplan was first announced in July 2025, followed by a public consultation that closed on 30 September and drew more than 900 submissions, two-thirds of which were incorporated into the final plan.The plan has not been without controversy, with residents' committees in some neighbourhoods, notably Parioli, protesting the loss of car parking and changes to traffic flow linked to the GRAB's route, prompting some adjustments to the project. Addressing critics at Thursday's presentation, Gualtieri said opposition to cycle paths was a battle "out of step with the times and with history", adding that Rome would become a "European city" on cycling and pedestrian mobility. Photo credit: Only Fabrizio / Shutterstock.com

Rome has presented an ambitious 10-year plan to expand the city's cycling network to more than 1,500km, in a move city hall says will transform how residents move around the capital. The , unveiled on Thursday by mayor Roberto Gualtieri and mobility chief Eugenio Patanè, sets out to add 185km of new cycle paths within three years, followed by a further 265km over the following two years. Combined with the 330km of paths that already exist, this would bring the total to 780km by 2028, before rising to a final target of 1,575km within a decade.

The plan envisages a system modelled on a surface-level underground network, which Gualtieri described during the presentation as a "bicipolitana". The system is intended to link the city centre with outlying neighbourhoods and will be backed by new infrastructure including maps, bike racks, rest areas, cycle-pedestrian bridges and additional bike parking at metro stations. The network will combine direct routes along main roads for commuters travelling to work or school with more leisure-oriented itineraries for cycling tourism. These include (Grande Raccordo Anulare delle Bici), the Ciclovia Tirrenica, and a roughly 30km route linking the Colosseum to the sea at Ostia via the archaeological site of Ostia Antica.

The GRAB, a roughly 50km cycling ring connecting central Rome to its outer districts via the Colosseum, the Appian Way, the Parco degli Acquedotti, the Quadraro and Prati, broke ground in July 2024, with its first stretch opened in April 2025. It is designed to connect with public transport at several points, including seven metro stations across all three lines.

The Ciclovia Tirrenica, meanwhile, is a coastal route stretching around 1,200km from Ventimiglia on the French border to Rome, of which more than 700km is already rideable. Its final stretch within Rome's administrative boundary, known as "Roma-Fiumicino", covers around 12km along the banks of the Tiber and its tributary, the Rio Galeria, crossing the monumental Mezzocammino bridge before reaching the border with the comune of Fiumicino. New works planned along this stretch include a ramp onto the bridge, covered rest stops and a cycle-pedestrian footbridge over the Rio Galeria.

City hall estimates the overall cost of building the cycling network at around €470 million. Funding for the plan's short-term phase, due for completion by 2027, has already been secured and largely allocated through tenders, while resources for the medium and long-term phases through to 2030 - requiring roughly €40 million a year - are yet to be identified.

The Biciplan was first announced in July 2025, followed by a public consultation that closed on 30 September and drew more than 900 submissions, two-thirds of which were incorporated into the final plan.

The plan has not been without controversy, with residents' committees in some neighbourhoods, notably Parioli, protesting the loss of car parking and changes to traffic flow linked to the GRAB's route, prompting some adjustments to the project. Addressing critics at Thursday's presentation, Gualtieri said opposition to cycle paths was a battle "out of step with the times and with history", adding that Rome would become a "European city" on cycling and pedestrian mobility. Photo credit: Only Fabrizio / Shutterstock.com