Corpn begins survey to identify bad roads, make them cycling-friendly

“The handlebar survey is a part of the ‘cycle for change’ challenge initiative of the central government that entails the smart cities to improve the roads to make them cycling-friendly. During the survey on Saturday, participants will ride cycles on selected routes and share their experience. The survey will begin at 5 pm,” a Chennai Corporation official said.

The survey will be conducted by the civic body and Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL), in which participants will ride the bicycles from Little Mount Metro Station to Corporation Park in MRC Nagar.

“There is no need to pre-register the names of participants. Also, we around 40 cycles from the cycle sharing system will be available for those who do not have a bicycle. Participants should wear masks,” he added.

This is the second such survey conducted by the civic body under the ‘cycle for change’ challenge after an online survey. Even though the online survey is still in process, more than 50 per cent of the participants felt that traffic congestion and potholes on city roads hinder cycling in Chennai, whereas more than 70 per cent participants expressed fear of being hit by speeding vehicles as the reason for not using bicycles.

The Corporation will improve any one of the 5-kilometre stretches in the city as cycling-friendly first, based on the feedback and suggestions received from both the surveys. Based on the pilot, other roads will be taken up for the project. If the civic body wins the challenge, the Housing and Urban Development Ministry will sanction Rs 1 crore to improve cycling conditions in the city.