Cyclists’ input vital in lane design

I WELCOME Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) recent initiative to instal bicycle lanes in downtown KL. It’s great to see DBKL taking distinctive approaches to make KL a more livable space especially when it is still well known for being more car-friendly.

I have lived in some of the most liveable cities in the world including Vancouver, Melbourne and Vienna. These cities all have dedicated cycling lanes and cycling became my main mode of transport.

I decided to try KL’s new cycling lanes recently and was shocked and disappointed by the experience. Compared to the dedicated cycling lanes I have used in other cities, the ones in KL have got to be the worst and perhaps the most dangerous.

One can’t comprehend how DBKL could have spent RM4mil of taxpayers’ money to design and build those lanes because they are just awful and dangerous to use!

It’s obvious that the lanes were not designed from a cyclist’s perspective. One would have thought that with all the money at hand, a separate lane would have been built. But all DBKL has done is to repaint sections of busy roads and walkways and proudly proclaimed them as “dedicated cycling lanes”.

In fact, the paintwork on some stretches of the lanes have already faded and they are barely a month old.

I was also surprised that pedestrian walkways were incorporated as cycling lanes. Don’t they get it? Pedestrian walkways are meant for pedestrians only! I saw some cyclists swerving dangerously to avoid hitting pedestrians on the walkway. If an accident happens in such cases, who would be at fault since the lane is meant to be shared by both pedestrians and cyclists?

I was even more amused when I read in a recent news report that certain politicians have proposed that the cycling lanes be shared with the pedestrian walkway. With this mentality and bizarre thinking around, it will take forever to make KL a developed city.

A pedestrian walkway must be strictly confined to pedestrians.

The cycling lanes also overlapped on several dangerous intersections of the busy KL roads (pic). Why didn’t DBKL plan the routes first before painting the cycling lanes?

I hope the relevant authorities will consider banning cyclists from using the lanes until the flaws are fixed. It doesn’t make any sense – in fact it would be suicidal – to use the cycling lanes as they are now.

Cities like Vancouver have dedicated cycling lanes built separately from pedestrian walkways and busy roads, and cyclists need not share the lanes with other commuters. This is all I’m asking from DBKL. Just make it simple.

I also suggest that DBKL instal bicycle-locking areas near certain stretches of the cycling lanes. Perhaps DBKL should hire a foreign consultant from a livable city to advise on how to properly build a world-class cycling lane. The current lanes simply reflect our “tidak apa” mentality.

ST Subang Jaya