RACF is happy to tell the prajas of bangalore that the first infrastructure for Bicycles is being put to place in bangalore. Finally Bangalore Gets its First Bicyle Lane. The Project is still 60% completed. The Jayanagar Bicycle Project intends to do the following ;
1> Create Safe Corridors for Cycling.
We started this project to move the cyclists away from the main road into Safe Havens where they will have relatively less traffic and hence more safety. So we identified the roads which the school kids generally take to avoid traffic. And we connected all the dots to get a network of bicycle friendly streets.
Dr Sudhira from Gubbi Labs who did the consultancy for the project suggested some changes in Junctions. Around 40 junctions were made pedestrian friendly and bicycle friendly. The Project envisioned painting 100 m from all such junctions so that the cyclist gets his space at the junctions so that he can cross over to another cycle friendly street.
2> Create Bicycle Parking Facilities in all parks and grounds
We are also speaking to some corporate to sponsor the bicycle racks. Soon we will be installing around 20 racks at 20 places.
3> Bring Bicycle to Focus in urban planning
One of the greatest learning in the whol exercise is the political participation and political support played a very crucial role and BBMP allocated some amount for bicycle infrastructure.
Yet the following actions are pending :
BBMP has to put the signages declaring the bicycle lanes.
BBMP has to install the maps and also information to promote bicycle usage in Jayanagar.
BBMP has to redesign few more junctions to give complete connectivity.
Videos / Photos attached.
Murali
RACF
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Comments
Cars are being parked on bicycle lanes
Hi Murali,
Welcome to Praja. I appreciate the steps taken.
I pass between Ashoka Pillar and Madhavan Park daily. Always, cars are parked on these bicycle lanes. There is no enforcement. It has just become that 'we have cycle lanes' for name sake.
I wrote on BTP's wall on Facebook. No reply from them yet.
I personally feel, unless we segregate it physically by putting lane dividers using cement blocks, this will never be successful in India.
Thanks,
Vasanth
Enforcement needs to be
Enforcement needs to be co-ordinated between BBMP and Traffic Police as the notification has to be issued by BBMP commissioner. As mentioned we need to wait for the completion of the project to see the effect of the small step taken.
Cement blocks can be put once the cyclists start using the lane and we see increasing demand from the cyclists. Now cyclists are not vocal and they do not have sufficient force to lobby for themselves.
m
Violation of bicycle lane
Good work Murali, your perseverance has paid off.
Violation of bicycle lane needs to be codified in the list of punishable offences. It may require either the traffic police or the transport dept to do the same via a notification.
parking alternates..
Identification of places where parking can be shifted to will be imperative before parking can be banned..building multi level parking lots sounds like a solution..
@murali: what will be the maintenance plan for the lanes being marked in Jayanagar..what happens when the road is relaid or dugup by different agencies
Denmark's new biking superhighway !
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/world/europe/in-denmark-pedaling-to-work-on-a-superhighway.html?pagewanted=all
For all the cycling enthusiasts, here is a dream we can hope to for India and for namma Bengaluru to lead the way!
exemplary lead by Mysore officials
Mysore officials, led by DC Mr Vastrad, IAS, steal a march over Bangalore and the rest of the country (check this). Is that going to be inspiring any of the officials in Namma Bengaluru?
Cycle lane ripped apart in J'nagar
Cycling lane that cost Rs 13 cr has been ripped apart to plant saplings
Barely six months ago, pedestrian-friendly footpaths in Jayanagar were narrowed down to make way for the cycling lane. And now on a whim, the civic body has dug it up and planted saplings that are sure to wither and die in the concrete surroundings
source
66% New Yorkers support bicycle lanes
Bicycle lanes may be little more than painted stripes on concrete, but in New York City, they have become the stuff of lawsuits, neighborhood squabbles and tense debates over the proper role of government. - - - When asked simply whether the bike lanes were a good idea or a bad idea, 66 percent of New Yorkers said they were a good idea, according to a new poll by The New York Times. A majority in all boroughs said they thought the lanes were a good idea, with support highest in Manhattan.
For the full report in the New York Times, click here.
I wonder, though, how far beyond the IISc campus we can go.
NMT coverage
A column of parked cars and rickshaws blocked our passage on one stretch, an oxcart on another. We biked past a cop writing a ticket to a car owner parked in the lane. But in general, my companions say, traffic police are wary of doling out the unpopular fines.
Source
Why did the lanes fail in
Why did the lanes fail in Jayanagar? Why are there not enough cyclists?
Guess the questions lead to a sense of safety..which mere lanes dont nearly provide..maybe contra flow tracks on just one side of the street would have sufficed..the other side could continue as parking ..
Pointless waste of money
These things are just for show typically by some local MLA to get political mileage with a certain segment of population - and to give contracts to their cronies.
In Malleswaram - they have spent 2 crores on improving 1.5 km of 15th Cross. And its a complete failure. No one walks on the footpath. They are still unusable. The good parts are encroached by vendors. Stones and debris are pilled up all over....Trees are not trimmed so other parts are blocked....
And now they are targetting 9th Cross - they have made the footpath okay - but its still unusable. Then they have put railings which obstruct access to the footpath.
Same with the Jayanagar bicycle lanes. No one cares. Its just an excuse to spend public money. Doesnt really do any good. There is NO accountability.
Ramesh
@rs
...but i dont think the answer is to stop... it is to do more & hold people accountable