Second survey on to improve infrastructure for cycling in Trichy

 The perception survey conducted by the Trichy Corporation to promote cycling has revealed that 79% out of 4,844 respondents claim they ride a bicycle daily or few days in a week, a majority of them for educational needs. Following the overwhelming response, the corporation has launched the next round of survey under the union government’s cycle4change drive to understand on-ground challenges in introducing bicycle lanes.

The week-long online survey was conducted in the second week of October. Among the respondents, 70% were men and 30% women. 89% people say that they know to ride a bicycle while 52% of the respondents were aged between 19-50 years. A majority of the participants have prioritised safety as the chief influencing factor and wants the corporation to ensure safety of bicycle riders on city roads.

The corporation has planned to identify viable and demanding roads where bicycle tracks can be introduced. In the second round of survey, the urban local body along with other stakeholders including the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) is ascertaining the major difficulties faced in riding a bicycle. Factors such as rash driving, stray animals, poor lighting, unauthorised parking and bad roads are to be analysed while preparing a design for new bicycle lanes.

“If Trichy is shortlisted, smart cities mission will fund Rs 1 crore to promote cycle-friendly infrastructure. Experts will also offer technical suggestions to the city,” said T D Achuthan, ITDP research associate. The results of the contest are expected to be out in December while cities can have time till mid-December to submit their proposals to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). “We will seek the opinion of residents and police while identifying the city roads for introducing bicycle lanes,” S Sivasubramanian, commissioner, Trichy Corporation said.