Though a record number of bicycles took to the streets last Saturday, there’s a long way to go before Bangkok joins the ranks of cyclist-friendly cities. The turnout on Car-free Day was impressive, but it will make no difference as long as policymakers remain lukewarm to two-wheeled travel. With improved facilities and safety, bicycles could be a far more popular means of transport. And greater popularity would help reduce pollution, traffic gridlock and energy consumption. The benefits are obvious to most, but realizing them will take a lot more than closing city-center roads to motorized traffic for a few hours once a year.

More and more cyclists are demonstrating that commuting by pedal power in Bangkok is no longer a dream. Their numbers are increasing, but only in the face of unnecessary inconvenience and danger. The city still lacks sufficient safe bike lanes to accommodate its growing army of cyclists. Current measures, including a 242-lane project announced by City Hall in June, are just a drop in the ocean. To make cycling a genuine, viable alternative to other modes of transportation, we need a network of bike lanes that covers the city as much as the roads do.

Meeting the demand for bike lanes is a high priority, but equally important is the need to protect and expand the existing road space designated for cyclists. Bike lanes tend to get clogged by motorcycles, especially during rush hour. The white “bicycle” logo sprayed in these lanes does little to deter other road users from straying across the line and offers no protection to cyclists. Better policing of these byways would make them safer and likely lure more pedal power onto the streets. Cyclists are also calling for a bike-lane network that connects to mass-transit systems like the Skytrain and MRT, weaving “bike culture” into city life. To realize that ambition, City Hall must also turn sections of footpaths into parking spaces for bikes.

Bangkok could learn a great deal from Amsterdam. Sixty percent of all trips in the Dutch city are made on two wheels, earning it a reputation as the most bicycle-friendly place in the world. Municipal rental bikes are available throughout the city, which is criss-crossed by a network of safe bike lanes. In Bangkok, Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra has scooted off on the right foot with Pan-Pan bike rental stations in the historic heart of the city. However, that scheme needs expanding to cover more of the capital if we want to emulate the Dutch.

Another model of pedal power is the Colombian capital, Bogota, where traffic jams have reportedly been reduced by 40 percent after a city-wide web of bike lanes was introduced and many roads closed to motorized traffic on Sundays. Bogota authorities met the challenge by relocating street vendors to make room for cyclists, renovating the city’s great avenues and banning kerbside parking for cars. Putting the cherry on the cake for the city’s cyclists was the introduction of a mass-transit system that connects with the bike lanes.

Amsterdam and Bogota demonstrate the all-around effort that it takes to get more people out of their cars and onto bicycles. Every measure is inter-related and likely involves the combined efforts of city planners, police officers, pedestrians, street vendors and motorists. Building a bike culture is a tremendous challenge, but other cities have shown that it can be achieved. Our annual Car-free Day is an inspiring start, showing what’s possible. But if we really want to ride our way out of traffic gridlock, everyone from policymakers to individual citizens needs to show the will and determination to realize a Bangkok bike culture.

(Editorial, The Nation)

(Asia News Network)