{"id":86757,"date":"2023-01-03T10:52:40","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T09:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/?p=86757"},"modified":"2023-11-11T13:28:54","modified_gmt":"2023-11-11T12:28:54","slug":"interview-simone-morgana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/interview-simone-morgana\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Simone Morgana FIAB lawyer and new Yuba Kombi E5 owner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simone Morgana<\/strong>, is a member of the national legal department<\/strong> e regional coordinator in Sicily of FIAB<\/strong>, the Italian Environment and Bicycle Federation<\/em>. He recently bought an electric cargo bike from Donno Bikes Yuba Kombi<\/strong> E5<\/strong><\/a> and uses it every day, for family activities and daily tasks.<\/p>\n

Why is this a special interview?<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Simone we talked not only about his new cargo bike Yuba but also about the situation of cycling in Italy, starting from Sicily and his experience in FIAB<\/em>one of the first associations in Italy to advocate a change of perspective on private mobility, currently focused exclusively on private car use.<\/p>\n

To be read in one go!<\/em><\/p>\n

The interview with Simone Morgana<\/h2>\n

You are the new owner of a Yuba Kombi cargo bike, congratulations! How did you learn about cargo bikes and what is its role now in your daily life? What do you use it for?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Simone<\/strong>: I have been cycling for many years and have had different types of bicycles since I was young: I have known the cargo bike<\/strong> through national experience in FIAB as I was a national councillor of the federation and am currently the regional coordinator of FIAB Sicily. I am also a member of the national legal department, so I have got to know cargo bikes in different ways and versions. Lately I have also discovered the world of Donno Bikes<\/strong> and we decided to buy a Yuba Kombi<\/em> because for our family it is the best solution.<\/p>\n

I tend to use the cargo bike for everything, I do not use the car in the city, except in very rare cases, and today the Yuba Kombi allows me, having three children<\/strong>to better manage organisation and time and logistics in the family. I use it to take the children to school, to kindergarten, to their activities, to go to work and to go shopping. For me, in fact, the cargo bike is the main means of getting around.<\/p>\n

You are a member of the National Legal Department of FIAB Onlus, a very interesting path. Tell us a little about your passion for bicycles intertwined with your work.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Simone<\/strong>: My \"passion<\/em>\"for bicycles goes back a long way, to when I was a kid: around the age of 10 or 11, it was normal for me to ride my bicycle around town regularly. I don't want to say that those were other times, Gela<\/em> is not a small town or a village, it has its own traffic and always has had it, in fact, it is a city of over 70,000 inhabitants and even then it had its difficulties. I have always moved around by bicycle and I continue to do so now, years later.<\/p>\n

However, I would not call it a 'passion' for bicycles, for me fundamentally the bicycle is a means of transport<\/strong> and I use it as such. Of course, I cycle in many ways, on a road bike, on a mountain bike, I have done some travelling, I do cycle touring. For me, the bicycle is a means of transport and I use it in all respects.<\/p>\n

L'experience with FIAB<\/strong> and this closeness to cycling (and to the very ideas of FIAB) led me to approach the federation and today I carry out promotional activities<\/strong> of all mobility policies. I believe very much in mobility policies, we work basically for this reason, giving public space back to the people<\/strong> because the theme is not so much the bicycle as an end, but a means of taking back public space, a sharing of space with people and weaker road users.<\/p>\n

The commitment in FIAB, through thepolitical activity<\/strong> proper and thetechnical work with the legal department<\/strong>is aimed at advancing the objectives of protection of the rights of the most vulnerable people on the road<\/em>with the aim of a regulatory developments<\/strong> to have new spaces for people<\/strong>redesigning and rethinking urban environments for a better quality of life. Amendments to the Highway Code, the introduction of cycle lanes, including two-way cycle lanes, school zones, and cycleable urban streets, are elements that, together with FIAB but not only, with the whole world of activism related to these issues, have been introduced in recent years and this work continues to be done and is really very important.<\/p>\n

What is the situation of cycling in Sicily and in Italy in general?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Simone<\/strong>I live in Gela, which is in the deep south of Sicily. I always say that here we are on the border of Europe, if on one side we have Cape North on the other side we actually have the border of the island.<\/p>\n

The cycling situation is fundamentally dramatic<\/strong>. In Gela we have for 70,000 inhabitants 1 km of cycle path. The municipality<\/strong> does not have policies related to cycling, nor to protecting and preserving public space for people, public transport is also almost non-existent. There are very few political activities carried out to protect people who choose alternative means of mobility: this is a clear detriment to the rights of many people.<\/p>\n

As FIAB regional coordinator, I can say that the situation in Sicily is no better, in fact it is very critical. However, I would like to make a distinction<\/strong> between thecycling\/adventurous mobility idea<\/em>which has been widespread over the years and is a bit like going on a trip, but where you have to use the old provincial roads or roads, this has its own charm and theidea of cycling mobility that is instead infrastructured<\/em>which has protected and signposted cycle paths, which has a possibility of intermodality with the train and public transport in general.<\/p>\n

Here in Sicily we are in fact in year zero, no city presents valid initiatives that can truly be said to have revolutionised mobility in a positive sense towards a return of public space to the people, from Catania to Palermo to Messina to Syracuse. We still have policies<\/strong> which in fact exclusively favour the use of private cars<\/strong> e take public space away from people<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We also have some virtuous examples, of course, some interesting pedestrian areas, some special ZTLs, but they are all drops in a sea that still does not point us towards a change of perspective.<\/p>\n

The protection of cyclists on the road... almost every day we hear about fatal accidents: is Italy bike-friendly?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Simone<\/strong>: Italy is not a bike-friendly country<\/strong> why communicates the idea of cycling<\/strong>or by an alternative means to the car adversely<\/strong>. Italy is a country for motorists, they say so data<\/em>, the percentage of cars per inhabitant<\/em>, kilometres of cycle paths<\/em> but in fact, we can have so many kilometres of cycle paths in a few urban areas and nothing in the rest of the country.<\/p>\n

Italy is a country that has not developed real policies for mobility over the years where today everything is done to shift attention to other ideas<\/strong> and funds for urban cycle paths are also being shifted. It is a political idea of the new government remove funds for urban cycling<\/strong> and allocate them to something else because urban cycle paths are not considered strategic infrastructure, when in fact the cycling plan adopted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport<\/em> says anything but.<\/p>\n

We have a totally different idea of mobility, we are convinced that only the sanctions<\/strong>which are in fact the ones that make the most news, are not enough, they are not useful: we need a more articulated design<\/strong> of mobility and this is what we have often advocated with FIAB and together with all the other realities of national activism. To date, we certainly cannot say that Italy is a country close to this type of mobility, despite the fact that over the years a series of actions and regulations have been put in place that have opened the way in this direction but, for the moment, have not really led to concrete change.<\/p>\n

What projects could be implemented to increase cycling and the safety of two-wheelers?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Simone<\/strong>: Existing regulations and plans could already be implemented today<\/strong>This would make it possible to change a lot of mobility in Italian cities. An intervention on the drastic revolution<\/strong> of speed within urban centres, which in fact is the main problem<\/strong> with regard to the claims<\/em>, a reality check<\/strong> with activities and interventions by traffic calming<\/strong> physically slowing down the cars. It is not enough \"placing a speed camera<\/em>\"But it is necessary to build roads in such a way that cars cannot go fast, traffic calming measures should be taken that lead cities not only to be 30 km\/h zones, Bologna being an example, but even to areas where the speed should not exceed 20 km\/h. That is the maximum limit, cars must go slower!<\/p>\n

These are policies that we need to start implementing<\/strong>along with many other instruments that are already there: the implementation of the general plan for cycling<\/em>the concrete realisation of the various provisions already included in the highway code, cycle lanes<\/em>, urban cycle routes<\/em>, school zones<\/em>. A greater focus on local public transport<\/strong> means favouring those who decide to leave their car at home and do not necessarily want to use a bicycle to get around, but can safely use public transport in their area.<\/p>\n

We live in a country where there are very few big cities: generally speaking, if we think of the entire nation, we have a majority of cities that do not exceed 100,000 inhabitants, many cities are below this number, so they could be perfectly well managed. Yet we are a nation whose mentality is still tied to mobility by car, we use it even to travel just 100 metres.<\/p>\n

These are all activities that should be done together with a policy to promote this type of mobility, policies that the administrations<\/strong> should be realised with an education of the administrations themselves, also for their employees, who today often do not have this education because they also move around by car, so they experience the car as the only possible means of transport. Instead we need to provide a new register in this sense.<\/p>\n

How did you get to know Donno Bikes and how did you get on? Feedback on the buying experience?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Simone<\/strong>: I met Donno Bikes<\/strong> online, flipping and bouncing from one site to another and I saw that there was a good product description so in the end, even the feedback at the pre-purchase stage and then after the purchase was really positive. I can only be satisfied with what Donno Bikes provided.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Simone Morgana, \u00e8 un componente dell\u2019ufficio legale nazionale e coordinatore regionale in Sicilia di FIAB, la Federazione Italiana Ambiente e Bicicletta. Ha recentemente acquistato da Donno Bikes una cargo bike elettrica Yuba Kombi E5 e la utilizza ogni giorno, per le attivit\u00e0 di famiglia e gli impegni quotidiani. Perch\u00e9 questa \u00e8 un\u2019intervista speciale? Con Simone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93546,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[586],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviste"],"meta_box":{"group":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donnobikes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}