<p>Doddanekundi as a model cycling-friendly ward with 45 km of road identified for safe pedalling. This is the vision of a unique year-long community-driven project that has already earmarked a 12-km route for the first phase. This might turn out to be a game-changer for cycling as a viable last-mile option.</p>.<p>The collaborative effort has residents, cycling enthusiasts and technical professionals teamed up with the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) under its Sustainable Mobility Accord (SuMA) initiative. Once the pilot is ready, the plan is to replicate it across the city.</p>.<p>To first understand the dynamics of the roads suited for cycling within the ward, 25 cyclists conducted a handlebar survey. “This helped to track road condition, safety issues, traffic at crossings such as the busy Outer Ring Road, lighting and more. The survey helped us select a 12-km route under the first phase,” informs Sobia Rafiq, cofounder of Urban Living Lab and project partner, Sensing Local.</p>.<p>Nine kilometres of this identified cycling route cover Bagmane Tech Park, Prestige Technostar, Doddanekundi village, Doddanekundi bus stop, Graphite India bus stop and the proposed Hoodi metro station. “Another three kilometres on this route runs along the Doddanekundi lake,” adds Sobia.</p>.<p>Capturing the trip details of 140 cyclists residing in the Doddanekundi ward last year, Sensing Local had found that over 95% of the trips were for recreation purposes. Almost 40% of the trips were to work ranging from 10-15 km cycling distance a day. The cyclists were largely from the age group of 35-60, which constitutes the city’s working population.</p>.<p>So, what makes Doddanekundi conducive for cycling? “Large captive population that can shift to cycling: IT office workers making first/last-mile trips to public transit nodes or other local destination and residents cycling for everyday trips (schools, groceries, recreation, etc).”</p>.<p>The ward has five lakes, 13 parks and tree-lined roads that can significantly help tackle vehicular congestion by incentivising non-motorised travel and promote shorter non-motorised urban commutes. Besides, 90% of the road network consists of minor roads, which are easy to cycle on.</p>.<p>The ward is also well connected to most parts of the city through ORR, ITPL Main Road and HAL Old Airport Road. “The average distance that most residents have to travel to reach bus stops on the major arterials range between 500 m to 1.2 km. This range is amenable to cycling.”</p>
<p>Doddanekundi as a model cycling-friendly ward with 45 km of road identified for safe pedalling. This is the vision of a unique year-long community-driven project that has already earmarked a 12-km route for the first phase. This might turn out to be a game-changer for cycling as a viable last-mile option.</p>.<p>The collaborative effort has residents, cycling enthusiasts and technical professionals teamed up with the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) under its Sustainable Mobility Accord (SuMA) initiative. Once the pilot is ready, the plan is to replicate it across the city.</p>.<p>To first understand the dynamics of the roads suited for cycling within the ward, 25 cyclists conducted a handlebar survey. “This helped to track road condition, safety issues, traffic at crossings such as the busy Outer Ring Road, lighting and more. The survey helped us select a 12-km route under the first phase,” informs Sobia Rafiq, cofounder of Urban Living Lab and project partner, Sensing Local.</p>.<p>Nine kilometres of this identified cycling route cover Bagmane Tech Park, Prestige Technostar, Doddanekundi village, Doddanekundi bus stop, Graphite India bus stop and the proposed Hoodi metro station. “Another three kilometres on this route runs along the Doddanekundi lake,” adds Sobia.</p>.<p>Capturing the trip details of 140 cyclists residing in the Doddanekundi ward last year, Sensing Local had found that over 95% of the trips were for recreation purposes. Almost 40% of the trips were to work ranging from 10-15 km cycling distance a day. The cyclists were largely from the age group of 35-60, which constitutes the city’s working population.</p>.<p>So, what makes Doddanekundi conducive for cycling? “Large captive population that can shift to cycling: IT office workers making first/last-mile trips to public transit nodes or other local destination and residents cycling for everyday trips (schools, groceries, recreation, etc).”</p>.<p>The ward has five lakes, 13 parks and tree-lined roads that can significantly help tackle vehicular congestion by incentivising non-motorised travel and promote shorter non-motorised urban commutes. Besides, 90% of the road network consists of minor roads, which are easy to cycle on.</p>.<p>The ward is also well connected to most parts of the city through ORR, ITPL Main Road and HAL Old Airport Road. “The average distance that most residents have to travel to reach bus stops on the major arterials range between 500 m to 1.2 km. This range is amenable to cycling.”</p>
