[sustran] Make room for cycles, urges India's govt
Rajendra A (HindustanTimes)
rajendra_media at yahoo.com
Tue Apr 22 15:42:21 JST 2008
Make room for cycles, urges Centre
Dedicated lanes for pedestrians, pedal pushers recommended in new
urban road projects
Rajendra Aklekar
Mumbai, April 12
IN AN environment friendly move to promote non-powered modes of
transport, the Union Ministry of
Urban Development has recommended dedicated paths for pedestrians and
bicycles in new projects.
A letter to the chief secretaries of all states sent by M.
Ramachandran, secretary to the
Government of India, underlines the importance of congestion-free,
nonpolluting transport.
It said: "Every public transport user is a pedestrian and no public
transport trip is complete
without a pedestrian trip. Pedestrians and cyclists use the least space
on the road and are the
most environment friendly modes of transport. Whatever roads are being
built, new or widened,
enough provision should be made for dedicated paths for pedestrians and
cycle users.
"Such provision should be made available wherever possible and if not
then the speed of mo torised
traffic should be limited to 30 kmph."
The letter, a copy of which is with the Hindustan Times, goes on to add
that while preparing the
master plan, it would be desirable to incorporate a network of tracks
for safe cycling between
homes and schools and work centres.
"Even flyovers that are being constructed should have proper design for
taking care of pedestrians
and cyclists," said the letter.
A Transport ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
they would examine where
the tracks could be incorporated in new projects.
"Such tracks can be kept only where there is lots of space. Mumbai is
overcrowded. We will
implement the recommendations where possible, but experience tells us
such tracks become places
for hawkers and not many use cycles," a Mumbai Metropolitan Region
Development Authority official
said on condition of anonymity.
rajendra.aklekar at hindustantimes.com
CYCLING, FAR AND NEAR
UNITED KINGDOM
The UK has a popular National Cycle Network. It offers over 19,200 km
of walking and cycle routes;
75 per cent of the UK population now lives within 3.2 km of such
routes. The network connects
towns and villages, countryside and coast throughout the United
Kingdom.
IN INDIA
NAVI MUMBAI
The planners of Navi Mumbai had built dedicated tracks for bicyclists,
but as time passed hawkers
took them over.
PUNE
The Global Environment Facility of the United Nations this week
approved a proposal to develop
89.6 km of bicycle tracks on roads connecting the Pune Municipal
Corporation's Bus Rapid Transit
System. The Global Environment Facility is an independent financial
organisation that provides
grants to developing countries for projects that benefit the global
environment.
AHMEDABAD The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation plans exclusive bicycle
tracks on the Bus Rapid
Transit System route to be functional by 2009. The cycle tracks will be
along the footpath and
have a width of 2 to 2.5 metres on the Bus Rapid Transit System routes.
The tracks will come up on
both the first and second phase routes, wherever road dimensions
permit.
---
Rajendra Aklekar
Principal Correspondent, Transport
Hindustan Times, Mumbai
HT Media Limited
--
140-4752, Nehru Nagar
Mumbai, 400024
Mobile: +91 9892 190 761
Office: 66539200
Fax: 66539250/60
---
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