Olympics as an Opportunity to Improve Mobility and Accessibility in the Mountains: A Sustainable, Comfortable, and Feasible Approach

Delivering the 2026 Winter Olympics in the Alta Valtellina alpine cluster involves different issues when it comes to transportation. The spatial context presents different challenges, due to its environmental fragility, orographic barriers, and remoteness from metropolitan areas. The current transport conditions, sustained on predominant car-based mobility, place the mega-event on a turning point: while developing more infrastructure for traffic would keep the unsustainable path started many decades ago, this chapter introduces an alternative of a sustainable mobility and accessibility approach. Looking for diversifying available options in the territory, encouraging public transportation and sustainable accessibility improvements are considered. Five proposals are discussed, taking into account intermodal services, slow travel and landscape values, user comfort, and walkability. Instead of massive infrastructure or car-oriented projects, the chapter addresses softer interventions that could be feasible within the event deadline while handing down further opportunities for the future.