JOIN USThere is good news for cycling enthusiasts in the city, who want a separate lane to peddle along without worry of obstructions by motorised vehicles.
The state government's Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT) is teaming up with the BBMP to create 70 to 80 kilometres of cycling lanes in the Central Business District (CBD). And what's more, this is only the first phase that would be expanded in future.
Similar to Mysuru's 'Trin Trin' project under the public bicycle sharing (PBS) initiative, the lanes would be constantly monitored by CCTV cameras to ensure motor vehicles do not drift in and obstruct cyclists. Officials said the DULT has internally readied a detailed site report (DSR) and is preparing to announce the tender. The project will be completed by mid 2018, they added. "We have prepared the internal DSR for the 70-80 km cycle lane in the city," DULT commissioner Darpan Jain told DH.
"As approved by the cabinet, the DULT will soon build the basic cycling infrastructure," Jain said.
The 600 locations marked for the first phase include MG Road, Vidhana Soudha, Indiranagar, Banaswadi, HRBR Layout, HBR Layout and Kacharakanahalli. These locations will have 6,000 cycles, Jain said.
The docket stations and technology used for PBS will be developed in the public-private Partnership mode, while the rent tariff will be similar to Mysuru - Rs 5 for the first one to two hours, Rs 10 between two to three hours, and Rs 25 per hour after the third hour.
M N Srihari, a traffic expert, is skeptical about the success of the new project.
"For starters, roads in Bengaluru are narrower compared to Mysuru, which were planned by the visionary kings," he pointed out.
"The cycling lanes laid in 2012 in Jayanagar are unused, without enforcement. People use them to park two- and four- wheelers," he added.