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Gurgaon to get 22km cycle lanes

The next few weeks will likely see a number of civic infrastructure projects here finally taken off the drawing board, now that the general elections are over. Among those is the municipal corporation's recent plan to build cycle tracks on a couple of prominent stretches in Gurgaon, a project that is soaon to receive official sanction. Senior MCG officials said that over 22 kilometres of cycle tracks are proposed under this plan, which will be implemented separately on parts of the Old Delhi-Gurgaon Road and the MG Road.

"We will have a seven kilometer long cycle lane on one side of the Old Delhi-Guraon Road, and the same length on the other side. The cycle track on the MG Road will run to around four kilometres in length on either side," said B S Singroha, executive engineer, MCG.

Segregated cycle tracks are among the few pressing infrastructural requirements in Gurgaon, where maximum road fatalities are recorded within the non-motorized traffic (NMT) segment, which includes pedestrians and cyclists.

Singroha said that most other municipal stretches in the city are too congested to accommodate roadside cycle tracks as of now. "HUDA roads are better suited for cycle lanes, because of their width. They are also working on a similar project in their areas," he said.

Although Gurgaon's urban mobility plan proposed around 210 kilometres of cycle lanes for the city years ago, this would be the first significant civic upgrade meant entirely to serve the NMT category on the roads.

Doubtless Raahgiri Day, which is now organised by the civic body itself, has had a big role to play in this regard. In highlighting the requirements and generating a demand for NMT-friendly roads, the event had proved an unparalleled success.

On Sunday, the two main Raahgiri venues - near the Galleria Market and in Palam Vihar - were teeming as usual. "We are seeing new participants every week. There is a lot of enthusiasm in the people, which is why every activity at the venues the gets a lot of participants," said an MCG spokesperson.

Source-On Request