The Smart Cities Mission that has initiated a ‘Cycles 4 Change Challenge’ for cities with a population of over five lakh, may finally give the much needed push for dedicated cycling infrastructure in Bengaluru. With the city still seeing a high number of COVID-19 cases every day, bicycling to work and other places wherever possible is a safe way to commute, say cycling enthusiasts. Incidentally, the campaign also says it aims to “inspire and support the cities to quickly implement cycling-friendly initiatives in response to COVID-19.”
The Committee for Cycling in Bengaluru — the first of its kind — is being formed to oversee cycling initiatives in the city. Its members will include Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad, representatives of the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) and Bengaluru Smart Cities Ltd., and citizens, including Bengaluru’s bicycle mayor.
After announcing 16-km dedicated pop-up cycle lanes on either side of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) between Silk Board junction and Lowry Memorial College near K.R. Puram, DULT has now begun a crowdsourcing exercise for drawing up cycling routes from areas along the ORR. “Cycle lanes are effective only when there is a large interconnected network of cycle lanes. So, we have decided to expand the cycle lane network in areas along and feed the ORR,” said Mr. Prasad.
Twenty-five wards along the ORR have been combined into a cycling district. Cyclists are being asked to map the routes where they want cycle lanes. Submissions are open till August 14. This district includes prominent areas such as Koramangala, Domlur, HSR Layout, Varthur, Bellandur, and Marathahalli.
“The pandemic is the best opportunity to push for cycling in a big way in our cities and we are happy that the Smart Cities Mission has taken up this task through ‘Cycles 4 Change Challenge’,” said Sathya Sankaran, bicycle mayor.
Two phases
The ‘Cycles 4 Change Challenge’ has two phases. In the first phase, cities selected under the Smart Cities project will have to implement a quick intervention for cycling, and also prepare a concept plan to scale up such interventions across the city. As part of the first phase, Bengaluru is creating pop-up cycle lanes along the ORR and mapping out cycling districts. “While on the ORR the pop-up lanes will be physically segregated with bollards every metre, the nature and design of cycle lanes on other roads will be decided based on the road width, traffic, and other constraints,” said Mr. Sankaran.
This exercise will be extended across Bengaluru. “If your area is not covered in this cycling district, it will open up as soon as the plans and budget for the Cycling District 1 are completed and submitted for implementation,” DULT says on its website.
The last date for submission of entries for Phase I of the challenge is October 14, 2020. Eleven cities will be selected and they will get additional funding and support for initiatives planned during Phase II, which will last till May 2021.
The challenge will now be an annual event and those cities that have not been selected for Phase II this year, can apply next year. “The process will repeat multiple times to encourage cities to embrace a cycling transformation,” the Smart Cities Mission says.
Published - August 10, 2020 12:03 am IST
