VIJAYAWADA: To promote use of bicycles among denizens, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is evolving steps to make the city cycle-friendly. VMC commissioner Swapnil Dinakar Pundkar has directed the officials concerned to identify suitable roads for encouraging cycling as an alternate mode of transport.
According to VMC officials, before the COVID pandemic, the civic body had conducted a feasibility study to identify roads, where cycle tracks can be introduced.
The officials noted that MG Road and Eluru Road were suitable for introducing dedicated cycling tracks. A trial run was conducted to introduce urban mobility on the lines of Hamburg in Germany. The trial run evoked a good response from the citizens. However, the project was shelved due to various reasons.
Now, Swapnil Dinakar has expressed his interest to develop dedicated lanes for promoting cycling. Instructions were given to the officials to launch a survey to get an idea of locals interested in cycling and infrastructure to promote non-motorised transport.
Based on the feedback, the civic body will discuss with the stakeholders to draft the next step to encourage cycling, he said.