The death of a cyclist due to a speeding SUV on the Kempegowda International Airport road on Sunday has angered Bengaluru’s cycling community, which has long been asking for segregated lanes for safe riding.
The city’s bicycle mayor Sathya Sankaran blames such accidents on the dearth of dedicated cycling infrastructure. He says, “Bengaluru has about 10 to 15 km of exclusive cycle lanes, when our ask was 2,000 km. And what is there is not continuous. The pop-up cycle lane on Outer Ring Road was removed for Namma Metro construction.” He continues: “Even if one wants to avoid a flyover, the road below is not safe. People race past them from the wrong side. Even on the three lanes off a main carriageway, cars overtaking from the left are rampant.”
According to the Comprehensive Mobility Plan by DULT (Directorate of Urban Land Transport), the city was supposed to get 50 km by 2022. “Why is it not there?” he asks. The DULT commissioner declined to comment, citing the Model Code of Conduct till elections. Meanwhile, some cyclists have submitted a manifesto for cycle infrastructure to political parties ahead of the elections. “We plan to gather 10,000 cyclists to make these demands after elections,” Sankaran says.
Dos and don’ts
Shashidhara K, founder of HSR Cyclists Group, says: “Ride on the left side of the road. Maintain an arm or half an arm’s distance from vehicles. Observe the volume and speed of traffic before turning into a street. Stay doubly alert on Sarjapur junction and Hosur Road.”
If you have flexible work hours like Marathahalli resident Bhavesh Jardosh, then avoid cycling to work during peak hours. “If you are taking a turn or changing a lane, put your hand out to signal 20-30 seconds in advance,” the director of a tech firm explains.
Practice cycling for at least six months before making it a mode of daily commute, he adds.
60 km cycle lane coming up: BBMP
Responding to infrastructural delays, BBMP chief engineer B S Prahalad says 60 km of cycle lane is ready and they are working to build safeguards around it.
About 34 km of it is on the Outer Ring Road. “We may open it to the public on August 15,” he says.
Use the road below flyover: Traffic chief
Bengalureans on Twitter questioned the victim’s decision to use the expressway without a helmet. Traffic police chief M A Saleem says no rules bar cyclists from highways or flyovers. Also, no law mandates helmets for cyclists. However, he advises cyclists to wear a helmet and use the road below flyovers instead.