Mysuru: Mysuru city’s dedicated cycle paths, created to promote cycling, are under attack, with roadside vendors deliberately damaging the bollards that safeguard these lanes. The public is demanding swift action against those sabotaging the efforts to encourage a sustainable mode of transportation.
The ‘Trin Trin’ cycle project gained momentum, with the number of cyclists growing daily. In a bid to further promote cycling, exclusive cycle tracks were constructed around the city over the past year and a half, restricting access to cyclists. To enhance safety, retro-reflective bollards (orange fibre spring posts) were installed along these paths to alert vehicle drivers of their presence.
However, some roadside vendors have shown a blatant disregard for safety measures, removing or damaging the two-foot-high fibre bollards to make space for parking their customers’ vehicles.
Notably, in areas like Kuvempunagar’s Vishwamanava Double Road and JLB Road in Lakshmipuram, where a 1.5 km cycle path has been set up, vendors, including tender coconut and fast-food sellers, are reportedly dismantling bollards to create parking spots for their customers.
20 bollards removed
At the Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Circle on Vishwamanava Double Road, nearly 20 bollards have been removed by vendors. Other areas have also seen intentional damage to bollards, tarnishing the cycle path.
The company contracted to construct the cycle paths was supposed to maintain them for a year, but after one and a half years, the responsibility has shifted to the municipal authorities, who are now grappling with the damage caused by a few unscrupulous individuals.
A tender coconut vendor near Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Circle was recently caught cutting bollards to make way for customer parking. Despite warnings from the Police, the issue persists and vendors continue to jeopardise the safety of cyclists.
As Mysuru plans to expand its cycle network, these setbacks threaten to undermine the city’s cycling initiatives. K.J. Sindhu, Superintending Engineer of the Mysuru City Corporation, assured that cases of damage will not be taken lightly and that strict action will be taken against those found responsible for these acts of vandalism.
‘Project is waste of money’
According to SOM reader B.G. Balaji, just last year, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) began installing retro-reflective bollards along Vishwamanava Double Road to designate a narrow lane as a dedicated cycling path.
“However, the project was a waste of money. The lane is too narrow for effective cycling and obstructed parking for shops, buildings and hotels along the road. Soon after installation, the posts in front of a tender coconut vendor were illegally removed. With no action taken against this act, others followed suit and many posts have since been removed,” he said.
“Currently, the lane serves neither cyclists nor anyone else. This unscientific project appears to have benefited only the contractors and those who approved it. It would be better for the MCC to remove these spring posts and repurpose them as road medians to streamline two-way traffic on busy roads,” Balaji added.
This post was published on December 2, 2024 6:37 pm