The Electronics City Industrial Association (ELCIA) has dreamt of making the cycle a regular means of getting around within phases I and II of the industrial estate. However, the busy traffic on either side of Hosur Road has made this ideal difficult to achieve.
The hike in the price of petrol should come as a fillip to this initiative. The Electronics City Industrial Association (ELCIA) has dreamt of making the cycle a regular means of getting around within phases I and II of the industrial estate. However, the busy traffic on either side of Hosur Road has made this ideal difficult to achieve.
“We have long been thinking of encouraging employees of all these companies to cycle. Cycles could be used for accessing the food courts too. These would be environment-friendly, make for greater fitness, and reduce the number of vehicles on the inner roads,” said Rama NS, chief executive officer, ELCIA.
Aruna C Newton, secretary of ELCIA, said that the “cycling city” project, as it was called, had begun with research on feasibility. “We wanted an estimate of how many people move around during the lunch and evening hours. So we did undertake some research last year,” said Newton, adding, “The most unfortunate thing is that the width of these roads is such that we are concerned for the security of those who would be riding cycles. Vehicular movement is thick, and the roads are narrow,” said Newton.
Even though several non-governmental organisations have been supportive of the idea, with RideACycle distributing free cycles to the poor, the idea of getting on a cycle as a mode of commuting within the city is yet to catch on, said Newton, adding that there were several issues of infrastructure that needed to be attended to, before cycling on city roads could be considered safe.
“The roads are also used by local residents. Many heavy vehicles move though these roads, to avoid heavy city traffic. With such conditions, it would be difficult to ensure the safety of riders,” Newton said.
There are over one lakh employees at different firms with offices at Electronics City, including Infosys, Wipro, Mahindra Satyam and HP. Many employees have evinced interest in intra-Electronics City connectivity.
There is a lobby urging that the elevated highway from Silk Board Junction be extended to Electronics City, and the National Highways Authority of India and the Centre have been urged to consider this request. The state government land transport authority will not partner such a project, as the maintenance of the industrial estates of Electronics City was a task assigned to ELCIA in 1970.
To make cycling safe within Electronics City, there are requests that roads be widened, and that sections of the road be marked off as being exclusively for the use of cyclists. Even the request that certain areas where roads are narrow be made out of bounds for motorised vehicles has been put forward. However, it’s still a long way before the humble cycle becomes a safe mode of transport on city roads.
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