City women cyclists ‘light up’ streets

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Women cyclists in Bengaluru participated in an activity where they decorated their bicycles with lights and diyas, demanding demanded safer, more accessible Cities For Cyclists. The event was held on Saturday, 22 October.

The participants carried placards to celebrate cyclists as champions of equitable and sustainable cities. The event was organised by Greenpeace India in collaboration with the Power The Pedal community. ‘It is difficult to walk everywhere.

Since I got the cycle six months back, I have been cycling to work, to the market and even to shop. But it is scary to cycle when there is heavy traffic. If we get a separate lane it will help us. I am decorating my cycle today with lights and making a video of it with the aim of reaching the decision makers with this demand.

Cyclists need space on the streets.’ Said Noor Begum, a cyclist associated with the Power The Pedal campaign. According to NFHS 2019-21, only 9.1 percent of families in Karnataka own cars whereas 32.2 percent households own a bicycle. Bicycles help fight climate change, reduce air pollution and congestion, and provide a healthier mode of transport.

Yet city mobility infrastructural plans continue to be largely car-centric. Hundreds of cyclists participated in the nationwide activity that encouraged commuters to celebrate the spirit of the cyclists. Enthusiastic participants decorated their cycles with lights and flowers and held up placards demanding better policies that accommodate and prioritise nonmotorised commuters on city streets.

A city for cyclists is after all a city for everybody “A critical rethink is required within city planning to prioritise people, instead of prioritising cars. Rather than designing our city-based infrastructure to serve the requirements of a narrow minority that uses private vehicles, our cities must be planned in ways that are peoplecentric and environmentally sound.

We need a systemic reorganisation of infrastructure, financial support and a culture shift to redesign new mobility systems that encourage the use of green mobility over private cars”, said Avinash Chanchal, Senior Campaign Manager, Greenpeace India.