As The City Gears Up To Participate In India Cycles4Change Challenge, Here Is What The Cyclists Suggest To Bring About An Eco-Friendly Change For Commuting
The street behind the Waltair Club sports activities a large and properly painted biking lane. But the trail ends abruptly on the junction close to Gujarada Kalashetram. Ahead of that junction, cyclists both must make their manner by the heavy visitors or get off the bike and stroll it dwelling.
But this would possibly change quickly because the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has registered for the India Cycles4Change Challenge, an initiative by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs which goals to help Indian cities to shortly implement cycling-friendly initiatives in response to COVID-19. The authorities is attempting to advertise biking as an eco-friendly manner of commuting to cut back folks’s dependency on public transport and assist them in sustaining social distance. Visakhapatnam together with 94 different cities have registered for this initiative.
Through their social media handles, GVMC is reaching out to folks searching for their opinions to make town cycling-friendly. “We have put out surveys and poll campaigns on our Twitter and Facebook page, inviting people to make suggestions about their preferred cycling trails, barriers on these routes, city’s cycling habits and their opinion about renting cycles.We are hoping that Visakhapatnam gets listed among the 11 cities to implement changes, following which cycling lanes will be developed and awareness campaigns will be undertaken to promote safety of the cyclists. Currently, we are considering to develop cycle lanes on the Beach Road. More areas will be added according to the suggestions submitted by the people,” says M Vinay Kumar, Superintendent Engineer (Smart City Projects).
What is India Cycles4Change Challenge?
- Launched in June 2020, the initiative goals to arrange in depth cycling-networks utilizing strategies like pop-up cycle lanes, non-motorised zones and arrange community-led cycle rental schemes.
- Of the registered cities, the Centre will decide 11 who can be given an award of ₹1 crore.
- Development in these cities will occur in two levels. Under stage one, the native authorities must conduct promotional actions to encourage biking and develop a wide-scale technique for making town cycling-friendly.
- Under stage two the cities will implement the scale-up plans underneath the steerage of nationwide and worldwide specialists.
Homesh Cetty, an entrepreneur and a seasoned bike owner believes that town must bear main redesigning to make it cycling-friendly. “There are barely any cycle lanes in the city and the ones that exist lead to nowhere. A cycling-friendly city like Copenhagen or Amsterdam has been successful because they have ensured that all parts of the cities are accessible on a bike. The cycling lanes are smooth and without speed breakers. If the authorities plan on promoting cycling as a part of daily commute, then all the areas need to be well connected, developing just a few areas will be no good,” says Homesh.
He can also be the founding father of Vizag Bay Cycling, one of many oldest biking teams within the metropolis. “ In the current state, cycling in the city is dangerous as there is heavy traffic and people are not educated about taking cyclist into consideration while driving. The authorities will have to educate the citizens about driving responsibly alongside cycling lanes,” he says.
Dr Suman Das, who picked up biking throughout the lockdown, believes that pop-up cycle renting providers will assist in making a buzz among the many residents. “Even if one is not a cycling enthusiast, these hop-on hop-off kind of initiatives can encourage a person to pick up rental cycles. For that to work, the authorities will have to ensure that here are ample of renting stations in every area,” he says.
Currently, the rental cycle service on the Beach Road is successful among the many metropolis dwellers, however the heavy visitors and crowd are a significant hindrance.
But 28-year-old Nidhi Chawla who moved to town a yr in the past believes that sustaining the cycle lanes is as necessary as creating one. “The job of the government is not done just by making the lanes. They have to ensure that people are educated about making use of these lanes while driving a car or a motorbike. A lot of people use these lanes to park their vehicles so authorities will have to look into that,” she says.
Homesh believes that biking trails in and across the metropolis would entice cyclists from internationally and provides a significant increase to the tourism business. “We are blessed with the hills and a serene coastline, Visakhapatnam would make for a great cycling destination if developed carefully. The authorities can have specific trails around Araku Valley, Bheemli, Meghadrigedda and areas near Madhurawada. These tours can be included in the travel guides of the city,”he says.
