The cycling community in Bengaluru had an unpleasant surprise on Sunday, July 18, when a sign conveying that bicycles are prohibited was spotted on Brigade Road. Nihar Thakkar, a cycling enthusiast, took to social media to bring the issue to the attention of citizens and concerned authorities. A quick response was received from Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan, following which the ‘No cycling’ sign was removed by Sunday evening. However, there's no clarity as to who put the board up on Brigade Road, which has been recently redeveloped by the Bengaluru Smart City Limited (BSCL).
Nihar Thakkar first noticed the sign at around 11:30 am on Sunday and immediately posted about it on Twitter. “I was pretty shocked to see such a board, especially considering that the city has been trying to encourage more sustainable modes of transport. I found out that the traffic officials claimed that it was put up by mistake, that’s odd,” Nihar told TNM. He said that such signs usually crop up on highways like Nice Road, Outer Ring Road, etc but there is no reason for it to be installed on other regular roads and called it a regressive move for the metropolitan city.
WHAT!?@BLRSmartCity_MD @CMofKarnataka @BBMPCOMM @BBMPAdmn pic.twitter.com/kpuWtydx4N
— Nihar Thakkar (@nihart1024) July 18, 2021
The Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan reacted to the tweet and spoke to the Managing Director of BSCL, P Rajendra Cholan, and clarified that it wasn’t installed by them. “Spoke to @BLRSmartCity_MD - P Rajendra Cholan. The Bengaluru Smart City didn’t install the 'No Bicycling Sign' on Brigade Road. I will communicate with the concerned authorities and address this issue at the earliest. Encouraging sustainable transport choices is my top priority,” the tweet read.
'No Bicycling Sign' has now been removed on #Brigade Road!#Bicycle contributes to cleaner air, less congestion and overall well-being. The benefits of riding a bicycle are both societal and personal.
— P C Mohan (@PCMohanMP) July 18, 2021
Say "Yes" to the power of bicycling.
“No” to the 'No Bicycling Sign'. pic.twitter.com/jZCXUvHqs2
Soon after, the MP said via Twitter that action had been taken and the sign had been removed. “‘No Bicycling Sign' has now been removed on #Brigade Road! #Bicycle contribute to cleaner air, less congestion and overall well-being. The benefits of riding a bicycle are both societal and personal. Say "Yes" to the power of bicycling. “No” to the 'No Bicycling Sign',” he said.
“I’ve spoken to the concerned officials, we will find out who put up the board,” he told TNM.
Speaking to TNM, Bengaluru’s Bicycle Mayor Sathya Sankaran said that the incident was quickly acted upon, however, it still remains unjustified. “Signboards are put up by the traffic officials but they denied putting it up on Brigade Road. Similarly, BSCL who may have put up signs after the Smart City work also clarified the same to the MP. As of now, it seems to have cropped up unintentionally. There needs to be more synchronisation among agencies who work on the plans,” he said.
Due to the quick intervention of @PCMohanMP the no-bicycle signboard has been removed from Brigade Road. Many thanks from the Council for Active Mobility and lakhs of cyclists across the city. All in a days work. pic.twitter.com/WTZEavI4f8
— Bicycle Mayor Bengaluru (@bicyclemayorblr) July 18, 2021
Sathya Sankaran said that over the last few years and especially post the pandemic-induced lockdowns citizens are actively making the shift to cycling. Considering such a positive trend that is making way for environment-friendly ways of commuting, even such small incidents will have a negative impact. “Apart from the fact that such incidents which pull us back two steps shouldn’t occur at all, it is very important that a city like Bengaluru encourages cycling and walking. We need to be working towards building more cycle-centric infrastructure initiatives to push people towards making sustainable choices,” he added.