From Dec 3, you can cycle from Mumbai’s NCPA to Worli sea link every Sunday

The cycling track along the 22-km stretch, the brainchild of Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray, will function on a pilot basis for three months

From December 3, you can ride a bicycle from NCPA to Worli end of the sea link every Sunday.

The two-way cycling track will be open every Sunday between 6am and 11am. (HT File)

The cycling track along the 22-km stretch, the brainchild of Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray, will function on a pilot basis for three months.

“We have received permission from the traffic department for three months. A 3.5m-wide track towards the sea side will be made available for the project, “ said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner, A ward.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has got sponsors for the project, who will provide cycles and helmets on rent at four places -- NCPA, Girgaum, Haji Ali and sea link – along with beverages for cyclists along the route. A three-member high-court appointed committee for Marine Drive has given nod to put up temporary structures for it.

The two-way track will be open every Sunday between 6am and 11am. The traffic department has asked the BMC to restore the entire route after the deadline.

With constant demand for cycling tracks in the city, this is third such initiative by the BMC in the past few months. The BMC is also working on a cycling track along the Tansa pipeline stretching from the eastern suburb of Mulund to Antop Hill in Wadala. The civic body plans to launch the project by December-end.

In another initiative similar to the NCPA track, municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta has asked all 24 ward officers to study the feasibility of tracks in their wards.

Another experiment for a cycling track was initiated at Carter Road a few months ago, but it failed owing to traffic issues.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Intro: From next Sunday, you can cycle from NCPA TO Worli sea link every Sunday

Length: 22km

Width: 3.5m

Timing: 6am to 11 am

Starting: December 3

Route: NCPA-Marine Drive-Babulnath-Peddar Road-Annie Besant Road-Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Marg and the Bandra-Worli sea link

MAJOR PLANS

The state plans to get cycling tracks along the arterial roads of 10 leading cities in Maharashtra as part of a pilot project and later extend it across the state

The cities

Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Amravati, Chandrapur, Kolhapur, Solapur, Latur, Aurangabad and Jalgaon

MULUND TO WADALA

A 39-km-long track, one of the longest in the country, will come up from Mulund to Antop Hill in Wadala

The first 1.5km, starting from Mulund, is expected to be functional from December-end

Rs300 crore Estimated cost of the project

It is expected to be ready by 2019