A pilot project to develop cycling corridor for the first time in the city is being proposed for the Khairatabad zone of GHMC, as part of the ‘India Cycle4Change Challenge’, a Central government initiative under the Smart Cities Mission.
Hyderabad is registered as one among the 95 cycle-friendly cities across India under the initiative by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA), apart from Warangal and Karimnagar in the State.
Hyderabad Unified Metropolitan Transportation Authority (HUMTA), together with HMDA, GHMC and Traffic Police, is preparing proposals for implementation of the project on a 23-kilometre stretch of Khairatabad zone. A length of 46 kilometres together on both sides of the road, it will cover seven cycling tracks already identified, a statement by MDA said.
As per the proposals, initially a 10-kilometre road stretch would be taken up for development of cycling corridor, and based on the feedback and implementation challenges, other tracks would be taken up. As part of the project, necessary signages, road markings, temporary barricading and plug and play bollards would be provided, the statement said.
Available spaces at HMRL stations, TSRTC terminals or depots, and MMTS stations would be used for locating Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) Docks for the purpose of first and last mile connectivity.
Post the pilot, it was being proposed to implement cycling lanes in a phased manner on 450 kilometres of road length, in locations such as Hitec City, Kukatpally, Dilsukhnagar, Charminar, Mehdipatnam, Financial District, Hyderabad Knowledge Centre and Kokapet areas.
The Cycle4Change Challenge was envisaged to be implemented in two stages, with proposals being accepted in the Stage-I up to October 14.
Based on the intervention, implementation, concept plans and scale-up strategies submitted by all the 95 cities, the Centre would short-list 11 cities for the Stage-II by October 28.
The 11 cities would be provided a funding of ₹1 crore by the MoHUA, apart from expertise and guidance from national and international experts. The project was expected to be completed by May 31 next year.
The project was being promoted with the objective of reducing pollution and safeguarding the environment, the statement said.