[sustran] Fwd: [NewMobilityCafe] Shaping Mumbai in to a people's transport friendly city...

[Paul Barter]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Faizan Jawed <phaizan at gmail.com>
Date: 2009/3/30
Subject: [NewMobilityCafe] Shaping Mumbai in to a people's transport
friendly city...
To: NewMobilityCafe at yahoogroups.com

Hello Friends,

Finally I have something to report from Mumbai!

After traveling around the world studying and experiencing the
benefits and joys that sustainable mobility brings to cities, I have
been eager to get something started at home. Mumbai is India's
commercial capital; I believe this is one of the most image-driven
cities in India (read popular advertisement driven). Below you will
read about a small initiative that I took along with a friend from
Columbia University who is currently in Mumbai. We are really looking
forward (and trying our best) to building this movement up.

Cyclists in city ask for more pedal power
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4328736.cms

Ashley D’Mello I TNN

Mumbai: Why are bicycles, which don’t pollute, take up little space,
are cheap and have virtually no maintenance cost, not a popular mode
of travel in Mumbai? According to activists and cycling enthusiasts,
the reasons are a mindset that favours motorised vehicles and a lack
of infrastructure to promote cycling in the city.

These were the two chief issues discussed during a public meeting at
the Carter Road amphitheatre, Bandra (W), to popularise cycling in the
city to check pollution and reduce traffic congestion. The meeting,
which generated a buzz in the vicinity, had several passersby joining
in. Also among the participants were young professionals working in
the IT industry and call centres.
Biking enthusiasts and activists discussed the need for dedicated
infrastructure comprising separate facilities for cyclists. This
includes segregated lanes, bicycle parking stands at railway stations,
shopping malls and public places, special signage and traffic signals
for bicycles.

Activists said dedicated infrastructure for bicycle riders would allow
faster shortdistance journeys (between one and six km), which might
even be more effective than going by car. Added to this are the health
benefits of cycling, they added.

Activists Fawzan Javed and Colin Christopher, who initiated the move
for the meeting, felt that starting a bicycle movement in Bandra would
set a precedent for other suburbs to follow. Javed is an architect
from Mumbai, while Christopher, a student at Columbia University, New
York, is currently doing a stint with Pukar, an NGO. “Once the
initiative takes off, it will grow and we will have less congestion
and pollution on the roads,’’ said Javed.

Javed, who has undertaken a project on the bicycle movement across the
globe, said it was becoming popular in Asian cities and was already an
established mode of transport in European cities. His idea is to have
a bicycle lane network in Bandra to enable citizens to ride along
freely.

Ashok Datar of the Environment Social Network said over the last four
decades, roads have been overtaken by cars, edging out the humble
cyclist. “We have the usual delivery boys and milkmen using bicycles,
but there has been a steep decline in the number of people riding
bicycles in general. This is because of a lack of dedicated space for
bikers, unlike in other cities of the world,’’ he said.
“Six percent of the city’s population owns bicycles, which is the same
as the percentage of motorised vehicle owners. This only shows that
there is a need to give environment-friendly modes of transport, such
as bicycles, as much importance as is given to others,’’ added Datar.

Several bikers from Dadar, who are part of the Mumbai Critical Mass
cycling event, cycled down for the meeting and expressed concern at
the problems bikers face on the road daily. Critical Mass is held
every Friday in over 300 cities around the world to promote an
alternative means of transport, they explained.

Seema Parakh of the World Resources Institute, said they were
networking with local ALMs and citizens’ groups to set up the bicycle
path network in Bandra. Javed said the central government was
gradually changing its stand and encouraging non-motorised modes of
transport in cities under the plans funded by the JNNURM. Development
of bicycle infrastructure projects was under way at Delhi, Pune,
Nanded and Bangalore, he said.

-----------------------------------------

What the article does not mention is the presence in the meeting of a
large number of working class people (read economically weaker
section) who comprise over 80% of the bicyclists in Indian cities.
These people listened to the deliberations (that were in Hindi)
intently but did not speak up even after several attempts at
convincing them. The class boundaries here are very strong. The
challenge ahead to shape this in to a real people's movement is
actually making them speak up and demand.

My name has been misspelt in the article as Fawzan Javed instead of
the correct Faizan Jawed.

With best regards,
Faizan.
2008 RIBA Norman Foster Traveling Scholar
Berkeley Prize 2008 Finalist
+91-9820981298
phaizan at gmail.com