Whitefield needs a pedal push to go smart

BENGALURU: Arvind Keerthi loves to hop on his bicycle whenever he goes out of home. But the IT professional and resident of Whitefield had a grouse: his movement was restricted to the area in and around his residence. The locality lacks basic amenities needed for cyclists: stands and exclusive lanes.
Arvind hopes to change that soon. One of the torchbearers of his citizen group, Whitefield Rising, he is trying to get cyclist-friendly infrastructure in place.Concrete cycle stands at bus stations of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and at sprawling office premises, besides exclusive bicycle lanes across the locality, are high on the group’s agenda.
Whitefield Rising and Zest Pedal, another cyclists’ group from the township, believe Whitefield is a fit case to promote cycling as a sustainable public transport.
According to Whitefield resident and urban expert RK Misra, the township and its neighbourhood spread over 20 sqkm has a resident population of 3 lakh and floating population of 5 lakh who come to the locality to work.
The township is complete with the presence of corporate offices, market places and residential areas. Typically, a bicycle-friendly infrastructure will help the local people commute to places of their need on bicycles. “Live-work-play all happens within the given area, so that people can readily incorporate bicycles into their daily routine,” said Misra.
“The population density is high here. People mostly use cars on narrow roads. Dedicated lanes will encourage more people to take to cycling,” says Arvind.
Experts feel that given the huge number of people who move in and out of the area, cycle stands at bus stations could result in encouraging a multi-mode public transport.
“If the efforts meet with success in Whitefield, they can be replicated in other parts of the city,” said Misra, convenor of the Technical Advisory Committee, BBMP.
On Sunday, Cycle Day debuted at Inner Circle Park in Whitefield and got two brand new cycle stands in the bargain. The two stands, that wear a fresh coat of green pain, are sponsored by the Rotary Club. The idea is to get more such stands at public parks, malls and hospitals.
“We have smaller teams in place that are in-charge of various key civic issues. The coming in of Cycle Day here definitely fits into our agenda and we are committed to making a positive change,” said Ritu George, COO of Whitefield Rising.