Installation of street lights on cycle tracks begins

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 3

Riding a bicycle will soon be convenient during night hours in the city as the UT Administration has started installing street lights on cycle tracks across the city.

The process of installing street lights on the stretch from Sector 22/23 towards Kisan Bhawan has already started.

The project worth Rs9 crore will cover cycle tracks of the entire city and is expected to be completed within a few months.

“The work of installing street lights has begun. All cycle tracks across the city will be covered under this project. The allotted budget for this project is around Rs9 crore” said Mukesh Anand, Chief Engineer, UT Administration.

Cycle tracks were introduced under the concept of Chandigarh Master Plan 2031- a cycle-friendly city. Around 70-km cycle track network is across V-2 and V-3 roads. The existing cycle track along V-3 roads was also upgraded and a total of 11 longitudinal green belts were developed as green corridors for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Earlier this year, after The Tribune highlighted problems of cycle parking at Sukhna Lake, the UT Administration came up with dedicated parking stands followed by the announcement of making the same in major markets of Chandigarh. In 2018, on the recommendations of residents’ welfare associations, traffic lights were installed on cycle tracks. “This is a good step by the Administration as Chandigarh is a cycle-friendly city. The cyclists will be able to use these tracks during night hours. Also, it will increase beatification of the city,” said Manoj Kundu, a cyclist.

Another cyclist said, “This was much-needed thing as Chandigarh is known to be a cycle-friendly modern city of India,” said Pushpinder Kaur.