Mysuru is one among nine cities, including six Smart cities, in the State participating in the India Cycles4Change Challenge, an initiative of Smart Cities Mission, for establishing a safe and cycling-friendly city.
The initiative was announced in June this year marking the Mission’s 5th anniversary. The cities registered for the challenge are supposed to implement quick cycling-friendly initiatives as a part of “COVID-19 safe” strategy.
Bengaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru, Tumakuru, Davangere, Kalaburagi and Belagavi are the other cities that are part of the challenge.
Out of 141 cities eligible for the Challenge, over 95 cities had already registered and the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will shortlist 11 cities by October. Each one of them will get a grant of ₹1 crore for developing cycling initiatives with tips from national and international experts.
The country’s first Public Bicycle Sharing System (PBSS) in Mysuru is reckoned to be the city’s biggest advantage for making it to the shortlist. However, it has more to do to be among the 11 cities going by the Challenge’s goals.
The Challenge will run in two stages. Stage 1 will run until October, where cities will pilot initiatives such as pop-up cycle lanes, host public consultations, conduct surveys, and hold campaigns to promote cycling for helping develop a scale-up strategy. Based on the pilots and proposals submitted, 11 cities will be shortlisted in October for Stage 2 which is extended till May 2021, according to the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC).
MCC Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde told The Hindu the city will roll out a survey to know citizens’ insight of cycling which is key to the Challenge.
The survey aims to identify barriers to cycling and correct them with the appropriate designs. The MCC has urged the civil society organisations (CSOs), consultants, corporates and concerned citizens to support Mysuru city in the Challenge by registering using the link https://bit.ly/2X0UK3v
Mr. Hegde said wider roads and roads with tree canopy had been identified for establishing cycle lanes and proposals had been sent to the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) for funding. “It (DULT) has in principle agreed to fund,” he said, adding that a cycling hoop has been proposed from Manasagangotri campus to Ramaswamy Circle covering Kukkarahalli Road and Vishwamanava Double Road for promoting safe and friendlier cycling.
“In view of COVID-19 scare, we are not doing any campaigns but working on developing strategies for boosting a safe cycling environment besides using the social media networks for generating a favourable opinion for the city,” said Mr. Hegde.
The online portal for the Challenge features a page titled ‘Support your city’. By filling the form on this page, interested citizens, CSOs, students, consultants, and corporates can express their interest in working with the city for the Challenge.
How they can participate
Interested citizens can support through plan and design cycling initiatives; coordinate the roll-out of the programme; organise consultations with citizens; mobilise volunteers for the initiatives; be a volunteer for the initiative; spread the word through social networks; document through photos, videos, and blogs; monitor or evaluate the impact of initiatives; and sponsor or bring in sponsors, said a note from the MCC.
The MCC will review the entries and form a diverse team for developing and implementing the initiatives.
