Bikes and walkers at the Swiss border: the SMILE plan to ease customs traffic

Fewer cars and more bicycles at the border between Como and Ticino: that is the aim of SMILE, a project under the Interreg VI Italy-Switzerland 2021-2027 programme. It was presented in Chiasso by the Ticino Department of Territory together with the Provinces of Como and Varese. The project extends the Swiss strategy Ticino Bici 2045 across the border.\n\nEarly analysis shows that more than 40% of cross-border trips are shorter than ten kilometres, a distance well suited to bikes and other light transport. Tiziano Bonoli, head of the canton’s slow mobility office, announced that dedicated cycle and pedestrian corridors are being designed at the Ponte Chiasso and Gaggiolo crossings, so people can reach jobs near the border safely.\n\nFor longer journeys, the focus is on combining modes. Fabio Passera, a Varese provincial councillor, noted that about 10% of users already combine train and bicycle. Valerio Perroni, of the Como side, pointed to the reuse of the disused Grandate-Malnate railway: 15 kilometres will become a cycling and walking greenway towards Varese.\n\nThe pressure on the roads is heavy. More than 78,000 cross-border workers enter Ticino every day, over 30,000 of them from the Como area. Over 80% use a private motor vehicle, and almost 85% of cars carry only the driver. Chiasso’s mayor, Bruno Arrigoni, has made moving traffic away from residential areas a priority.\n\nFor visitors: the Como-Chiasso route is very busy at rush hour. If you plan to cross the border, consider taking the train.\n