52 vivacity magazine • july 2011 www.vivacitymagazines.com 53july 2011 • vivacity magazine www.vivacitymagazines.com

arun Khanna

The arterial lanes of Kathmandu are good transitional spots that can make it easy to bypass traffic bottlenecks and choking pollution. Best done with the bicycle. What could ‘bicycle cities’ of the world teach Kathmandu to gain this advantage.

eco echoes

as you contemplate the traffic jams looking at crowded public vehicles, you are either left waiting for the next one or it gets to be a bar hanging, toe crushing, armpit smelling experience. Sandwiched

between legs and arms for a long ride, goaded by elbows at frequent stops. Pushed towards the exit, particularly when what you want to do is get in. Or better, standing half bent in a low roofed micro van, as if frozen in deep thought.

Negotiating road spaces by size and speed has its hierarchy. And your turn to pass through depends on where you are located on the scale. Pedestrians give way to bicycles, bicycles to motorbikes and in turn the car, the micro vans, buses and trucks. And the different combinations to the colors of the number plates, which designate vehicles into categories of the foreign agencies, the government, the semi government, the taxis and the general public adds another hierarchical dimension to the privelege of passing through.

The larger roads sure make it clear by the traffic lights what they are meant to be. But a look at the inner inherited lanes and streets of Kathmandu suggest - sharing of community spaces was their original objective and that too at a pedestrian’s pace. Their average distance from one point to the next, a matter of an unhurried stroll with plenty of breather junctions in between, most often the purpose - a sedate walk to a temple porch, or a causal visit to a common courtyard, overlooked by windows from neighboring houses.

54 vivacity magazine • july 2011 www.vivacitymagazines.com

of amsterdam’s traffic is bicycle. the city has a population of over

40 %750000

Today these pretty lanes are bottlenecks clogged by cacophony, particularly on days when traffic on the larger roads spills inwards - commuters trying to find a way out. The buildup of traffic in the lanes not only transforms the physical spaces but the social fabric, the traditional continuation that the arterial city streets were supposed to give to households, work & worship routines and ethnicity of neighborhoods. But everyone needs to reach somewhere. These lanes are not going to get widened. The least intruding of all forms of transport seems to be the bicycle. Imagine if the lanes could be bicycle lanes. The speed would match the layout, the cacophony would subside, and even pedestrians could get back to some rightful walking.

‘Sharing the road’ is a part of commuting program of many cities of the world today. And the bicycle takes a fair share of it, making them the Bicycle Cities.

A glance at some is a source of getting inspired anytime.

40 percent of Amsterdam’s traffic is bicycle. The city has a population of over 750000.

In Denmark practically everybody has a bike, and for many years Copenhagen - population 1.8 million - has been known as ‘the city of bicycles’. Currently 32 percent of inhabitants bicycle to work and 50

percent of them say they do so because it is fast and easy. The city plans to double its spending on biking infrastructure over the next three years.

Portland, in USA, saw its bicycle network expanded from 60 to 260 miles since the early 1990s. Bicycle use has quadrupled over the same period without any increase in traffic accidents. Its success story is, connectivity of urban neighborhoods by by-passing auto commuting roads.

Barcelona, Spain, has an engaging bike-hiring program; the ring road surrounding the core urban area is intermittently marked with over 100 different bike stations giving riders the option to hire a bicycle on a point-to point basis.

eco echoes

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‘Sharing the road’ is a part of commuting

program of many cities of the world today. and

the bicycle takes a fair share of it, making them

the Bicycle cities.

bicycles and

5,000today the program provides over

stations in montreal alone.400

And some cities like Bogota, Columbia, just gain the bicycle advantage by default. Only about thirteen percent of residents own cars. Every week the city closes over 70 miles of streets to vehicle traffi c, allowing only bicycles, pedestrians & skaters to enjoy freedom of movement.

Montreal, Canada, has inspired bicycle cities everywhere in the world with Bixi - an innovative bicycle rental program. In 2008, Bixi got ranked 19th

in Time Magazine’s “50 Best Inventions of the Year”. Today the program provides over 5,000 bicycles and 400 stations in Montreal alone.  Having made its mark in cities like London, Melbourne & Washington D.C.

Bixi the word, comes from “bike” and “taxi”, implying its public transport utility. Designers claim their bikes for Bixi are theft proof. Equipped with a GPS chip, if not returned in time they slow down, gradually, automatically locking the brakes. Located at self service docking stations the bicycles can be undocked by paying with a credit card or if one is a subscriber to the service, one gets a Bixi key, a number, to unlock the bicycle.

Self-service kiosks print an access number for a 24-hour day user’s pass, which releases the bicycle from its stand. Aft er use the bicycle can be returned to any Bixi bike station in the city. Every fi rst 30 minutes of use is free, so if docked into a rental center within the half hour, the rider has to wait only a couple of minutes before taking it out again for a free 30 minutes! Beyond this limited use, annual, monthly and daily rental comes at a fee. One pays less than 80 dollars for a year’s use.

With over half a million motor vehicles in Kathmandu valley, not just driving but parking asks for space. Some of the ‘bicycle city’ schemes could do well to the valley’s health and mobility with a growing population of workers, students, businesses and expatriates. Th is spurt of urban exodus started back in the 70s with urban population growing at 8.4 percent, all moving into Kathmandu.

Perhaps schemes for rental could be operated at community level in designated areas. A network of Bicycle sheds & rental services at major transit points such as bus parks, shopping malls and offi ce spaces could be a starter. Th e bicycle could be hired at one point and deposited closer to point of destination, something like the Bixi in some western countries. Tourists could be the fi rst trial groups. Hotels and hospitality sectors could off er discounts and schemes for bicycle users pedaling in. Wishful thinking? Tell it happens.

Oft en a culture comprises of habits, and images that provoke them. Simplicity of the bike can be its att itude; can be chic, street-smart and something more with the right projection from media platforms and promotions. Given a style factor, along with the health advantages, perhaps youth could be the second target group to be encouraged towards the use of the bicycle through campus programs.

eco echoes

With over half a million motor vehicles in Kathmandu valley, not just driving but parking asks for space.

700500

One hour of bicycling at 12 mph burns about

calories. half hours twice a day would probably burn

at least.

Recently the valley traffi c police and the high school associations seem to be reaching an understanding to ban two wheel moterbikes for students in school campuses. Th is could be a time to inject the bicycle idea as a replacement, at least for some.

In 2005 a decision on making a 44 km long bicycle track in Kathmandu Metropolitan City was initiated when Nepal signed the Velo Mondial Charter and “Action Plan for Bicycle Friendly Communities” Th is soon encouraged a group of Kathmandu University students to start a campaign called Kathmandu Cycle City 2020 for making the capital, Kathmandu, a cycle friendly city by 2020.

Th e Government of Nepal has asked Chinese Government to extend support for the development of cycle infrastructures in Kathmandu Valley

Many countries have gone in for encouraging workers to come to work on a bicycle. Infact Kathmandu has seen some initiative on similar lines. A year back Chain, a bike company, launced “Bike Friday, a once a week cycling day in association with Laxmi Bank. Th e result - employees of Laxmi Bank bicycle to offi ce every Friday. Chain went on to take the program to schools and other bussiness concerns. Big Mart, Moksh, Himlayan Java and Gyanodaya School took up the program. It might not be easy to switch everyone targeted, into the

program, but the idea has been put into motion. Sure enough bicycle culture cannot mean the opposition to automobile travelling, but a balanced use of the bicycle as an advantage.

Above all bicycles are low polluting and cost eff ective. Faster when arterial lanes are available - and Kathmandu has many - which make it easier to accommodate the cyclist in the transitional areas. Th ese could be designated as exclusive bicycle zones, and take the traffi c fi zz out of the bott lenecks.

Bicycles can easily shrug off the shooting prices of fuel and regain independence from the dictates of mile long ques stretching for several hours both sides of a fuel station.

And can the health benefi ts be ignored? One hour of bicycling at 12 mph burns about 700 calories. Half hours twice a day would probably burn 500 at least.

With the price anywhere from 20,000 to 75,000 rupees, bicycles are not a cheap investemnt yet, but companies like Chain off er easy purchase options, on instalemnts and discounts.