Hyderabad cycling community push for activity mobility bill, infrastructure
HYDERABAD: The cycling community of Hyderabad on Friday appealed to the Telangana government to pass the ‘Activity Mobility Bill’ in Telangana for the safety and protection of pedestrians and cyclists in the city, aiming to make Hyderabad an exemplary and pioneering developed city in the world.
They also urged the state government to promote and mandate active mobility in the city as the preferred mode of transportation, aiming to cover all local transportation needs with the agenda of #15MinsCity, where every transportation need should be fulfilled nearby with walking and cycling as the preferred modes.
Santhana Selvan, Bicycle Mayor of Hyderabad (BYCS), said, “Hyderabad’s cycling community believes that this presents a great opportunity to improve our city and our country, India, towards developed city status, by focusing on transport. Transportation is the biggest contributor to the three major #UrbanProblems in our cities: pollution, traffic, and public health. We dream of seeing Hyderabad as the most Cycling-Friendly City in India, where our kids and grandkids can walk, cycle to schools and colleges, and use public transportation safely, without parental supervision or safety concerns.”
🌺 *A Comprehensive Request to the Telangana Government from entire Cycling Community of Hyderabad, for enabling #ActiveMobility and #SustainableMobility in our cities*, to make our city an example and pioneering Developed City in the world. Thank you🌺❤️@TelanganaCMO… pic.twitter.com/km3LiUJRUa
— Bicycle Mayor of Hyderabad (@sselvan) April 26, 2024
“While we, as the cycling community of Hyderabad, work on the Cycling Revolution #HyderabadCyclingRevolution with more and more citizens and residents of Hyderabad adopting cycling and active mobility, we humbly request the government to help implement our requests to facilitate active and sustainable mobility in the city.”
The Hyderabad cycling community believes that active mobility and sustainable mobility are long-term, permanent, and sustainable solutions to urban problems in cities.
Hyderabad cycling community appeals for no-vehicle zone
The Hyderabad cycling community appeals to create no-motor, no-vehicle zones. They demand the creation of #NoMotorVehicleZones, dedicating neighborhood shopping streets (e.g., Ameerpet Shopping Zone) and tourism spots (e.g., Charminar) for walking and cycling only, to provide adequate space for pedestrian movements rather than vehicle movements.
They call for the identification of school zones in the city, where clusters of schools are focused in one region, and the creation of safe zones for kids and pedestrians to enable active mobility for children.
They believe in creating pedestrian spaces for more breathing room within the city and integrating pedestrians into road and traffic design are also emphasised. Currently, roads are designed primarily for motor vehicles with little consideration for pedestrian movements, footpaths, crossings, pelican signals, and U-turn enablements.
They appeal to the government to implement the following five Es to promote active mobility
Education: Awareness programs about recognizing cyclists and pedestrians on the road, at the traffic police level.
Enforcement: Education and rigorous tests at the TSRTA level. Strict laws for any accidents or violations affecting pedestrians and cyclists.
Engineering: Well-connected footpaths, pedestrian crossings, and pelican signals for safe pedestrian movements. A comprehensive bicycle lanes network across the city for commuting purposes. Enable public bicycle sharing and/or allow bicycles in the metro and/or provide bicycle parking in public transportation stations (metro and TSRTC bus). Increase, improvement, and more investment into public transportation for increased public movement.
Encouragement and empowerment: More incentives and promotion for bicycle usage. Provide free bicycles to economically backward individuals to promote more bicycle usage in the city.
Overall, this will lead to a healthier, happier, and more environmentally friendly Hyderabad. Let’s prioritise moving people over vehicles and together transform our city into the best and world-class, said Hyderabad cycling community.
