Bengaluru’s first bi-directional cycle lane opens at SK Road

Bengaluru gets its first bi-directional protected cycle lane at SK Road, Doddanekundi, under the Sustainable Mobility Accords (SuMA) initiative, a community project to encourage and popularise sustainable mobility.

The project is the joint effort of the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), Bangalore, Sensing Local, and residents of Doddanekundi. “The cycling lane connects two schools en-route, making it safer for hundreds of children riding to school every day along with cyclists that use the route to work,” said Nihar Thakkar, team member of the project.

The project was initiated at the end of 2020.

“In the last two months, we installed multiple counters on the Outer Ring Road cycle lanes and took initiatives to improve the footpath in this area. Currently, we are installing the bicycle separators,” Nihar added.

The bicycle separators were designed and installed by the start-up Elemental Motor Works.

Talking about the design, Piyush Verma, co-founder of Elemental Motor Works, said: “The main goal (of the design) is to prevent motorists from encroaching upon cycle lanes. This could also help prevent waterlogging, keeping it vandalism-proof and having a low carbon footprint.

“When viewed from the top, the design resembles an ‘X’. It is tilted diagonally towards the bike lane traffic, making it easier for cyclists to exit the lane whenever they want while also making it more difficult for automobiles to enter because they would have to make sharp turns. Because the material is recycled four times, it is valuable only as a pollard. This reduces chances of theft.”