Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

Update From Delhi: Separated Bike Lanes Far From Guaranteed

5:21 PM EST on January 27, 2010

Delhi_BRT_Corridor.jpgDelhi currently has separated cycle tracks along its BRT corridors. Image: BRT_Delhi/Flickr

On Monday, we reported on Delhi's decision to install bike lanes on all its major roads -- an intriguing piece of news from a developing world metropolis where private motoring appears poised to potentially overwhelm the city's streets.

We noted that it seemed like an open question whether those bike lanes would be physically separated or not. Since then, we've heard back from the Delhi Cycling Club, the local advocacy organization that led the push for bike lanes. It turns out they have the same questions we do.

According to the club's Rajendra Verma, decisions about physical separation will hinge on both the advice of consultants hired by the Delhi government and "how much the pressure groups like us are able to push/fight for in order to ensure that bike lanes are developed mostly [as] physically segregated in the city."

Anything less than separated lanes will probably wilt under the pressure of Delhi's famously lawless streets. The Times of India reports that the city's bike lanes "are encroached by unauthorized parking, two-wheelers and autos avoiding jams or hawkers and squatters."

Separated lanes or not, Verma called Delhi's commitment to cycling a "major policy decision." Though it does sound like the Delhi Cycling Club has a lot of advocacy work ahead to make these bike lanes all they should be.

You can read the letter from Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit after the jump...

Delhi_CM_letter_and_assurance_to_DCC.jpg

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Can We Just Keep Cars Off the Queensbridge Baby Greenway?

Why do we allow car drivers to park on greenways, in parks and on tree beds?

March 29, 2024

Maximum Rage: Delivery Workers Protest Low Wages, App ‘Lockouts’

Couriers with bikes and signs urge the city to step in as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash withhold work, they say.

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024
See all posts