I totally agree with the sentiments in today's letter
to the editor with the headline “Bicycle lanes are sorely needed”.
As the letter mentioned, it is pointless for the Tourism Ministry to
promote cycling as a tourism product that does not come with the
infrastructure. The last sentence in the letter says it all, cycling
on our roads is dangerous.
The increasing popularity
of cycling as evident by the number of bicycle shops with their
different types of bicycles should spur the authorities to do their
part in providing the necessary infrastructure to cater to the needs
of this group of enthusiasts. We can see groups of cyclists on the
road during weekends and even week days while some of them prefer the
more challenging off road events. Either way, they are becoming a big
community and their needs should be considered.
Once upon a time, a long,
long time ago, bicycles were quite a common mode of transport for the
public. As we progressed, we changed and upgraded ourselves by buying
motorcycles and cars. The motorised vehicles has its uses and during
the same period, bicycles were relegated to just a kid's toy.
Now we realised that the
bicycle has its purpose too, a recreational and even an alternative
mode of transport in the urban sprawl that keeps expanding by the
day. The grid lock that we face whenever we have to go from point A
to B in our daily lives does not augur well for our health. It wastes
time and petrol, limited resources that are not renewable. Once used,
gone forever.
If the bicycle is truly to
play a better role in our lives even for the weekend, an urgent
revamp of the master plan of our cities and towns need to be put in
place. Town planners have to take into account the practicalities of
having bicycle lanes as the current usage of motorcycle lanes for
bicycles does not quite solve the problem of safety for the cyclists.
That should be uppermost when ever we decide to modernise our
landscape. The safety of its inhabitants.
Image from asmaliana
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