Gurugram’s maiden cycle track faces a host of challenges

A week after the city’s first cycle track opened along Netaji Subhash Marg, cyclists were found to be facing a host of issues, such as encroachments by street vendors,

A week after the city’s first cycle track opened along Netaji Subhash Marg, cyclists were found to be facing a host of issues, such as encroachments by street vendors, cars driving on the cycle track, and the presence of illegal auto rickshaw stands.

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Acknowledging the issues, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials said that the project is still “a work in progress” and that changes are being made accordingly to address the issues.

The 10km stretch between Huda City Centre (HCC) and Subhash Chowk was thrown open by the GMDA to the public on October 2.

Cyclists said that in certain parts of the stretch they prefer to drive on top of the footpaths instead of the cycle track as they fear that they may come in the path of speeding vehicles.

“In certain parts, the cycle track has proper bollards preventing cars from entering the track, while in some other parts, such as near Greenwood City, bollards are missing. At these points, cars can often be found parked on the cycle track or speeding through the track. In these patches, I prefer to cycle on the footpath rather than the track to avoid getting hit,” said Satish Yadav, a resident of Jharsa village.

“Near the Subhash Chowk flyover, auto-rickshaws can be often found parked on the cycle track, while near Unitech Cyber Park, street vendors are covering half the track. Despite being on a cycle track, I have to constantly remain on a high alert. Auto-rickshaw drivers may suddenly start their vehicle or, if I am not focusing properly, I may end up crashing against a street cart. Therefore, the safety aspect attached with a conventional cycle track is completely lost,” said Rintu Sengupta, a resident of sector 50.

Cyclists also said that apart from cars, the bollards also allow enough space for two-wheelers to make their way through, and these vehicles remain a constant presence on the stretch.

“We did not want to reduce the space between bollards or else a cyclist would have to get off the cycle to make their way inside the cycle lanes. This would have been a major inconvenience and defeat the entire purpose of a cycle track. To address the issue of two-wheelers, we are working on installing more signage on the stretch, both in Hindi and English, informing them that only the entry of cyclists is allowed on the track. We will also be launching a few awareness campaigns to inform people,” said VS Kundu, chief executive officer (CEO) of GMDA.

Regarding the issue of street vendors and four-wheelers occupying cycle tracks, Kundu said that GMDA is installing more bollards along the stretch that will prevent them from entering the lane altogether.

“At a few points, due to shortage of workers, bollards couldn’t be installed around the time when the service was launched. These are in the process of being installed properly and would prevent four-wheelers and street vendors from entering the cycle lanes. We wanted to open the cycle lanes as early as possible to identify more and more issues face by cyclists on the stretch and keep these in mind when we are planning on building future cycle tracks across the city,” said Kundu, adding that there are 37 points along the stretch that are entry and exit points for residential and commercial buildings. The authority is working on a long-term project of building a service lane behind these buildings, wherever absent, for vehicles as well as re-engineering four intersections along the stretch to make them both pedestrian- and cycle-friendly.

As per GMDA officials, around 650 kilometres of cycle tracks would be built in the city. In the first phase, cycle tracks would be planned around the Huda City Centre towards Golf Course Road, Paras Hospital, Signature Towers and MG Road.

“About 12-14% of commuters use cycle as a mode of transport in the city by choice. Hence, making cycle tracks in the city was desperately needed as currently all roads have been designed keeping only vehicles in mind. The right of way (ROW) of cyclists and pedestrians also needs to be given importance along with vehicles,” said Sarika Panda Bhatt, associate director, Nagarro, which is assisting GMDA with the cycle track project.