(Photo Courtesy: Kohima Smart City Development Ltd)
Kohima, October 12 (MExN): In an effort to include its citizens in the urban development process and to ensure participatory planning, Kohima Smart City Development Ltd carried out a city-wide survey as part of the India Cycles4Change Challenge.
The survey was rolled out for four weeks to get citizens’ perspective on cycling and the different barriers they face while cycling in the city. It has registered 1,235 responses, from 60% men and 40% women. Across India, over 50 cities have rolled out the survey, registering over 30,000 responses from its citizens.
According to the survey, in the city, 90% of men and 88% of women know how to cycle (consider the responses who said ‘Yes’). 5.9% of respondent cycle daily or on a few days a week and 16% cycle only on weekends and majority of men and women cycle for exercise and recreation.
The survey has revealed that the biggest barriers for to cycle are getting hit by speeding vehicles and traffic congestion. Some of the barriers highlighted in the survey were;
• Fear of speeding vehicles: 30% of women and 38% of men said that they feel threatened by speeding motor vehicles while cycling.
• Potholes and open drains: Poor road surface due to potholes and open drains is an issue for 5% of women and 6% of men.
• Poor street: lighting Poor street lighting was highlighted as a major issue by 41% of women, while only 30% of men recognized it as a barrier.
• Obstructions such as parked vehicles, pedestrians: 30% of women and 38% of men cited obstructions such as parked vehicles, pedestrians, and dustbins as a challenge while cycling in the city.
• Traffic congestion: Congested roads and high traffic were a threat to 30% of women and 38d% of men.
The majority of men and women felt unsafe while cycling on the main highway, crossing junctions, and at night. A whopping 95% of men and 80% women stated that they would cycle if there was safe and convenient cycling infrastructure in the city. A majority 87.9% of respondents prefer to own a cycle while only 10.7% stated that they would rent a cycle.
“The online survey aims to have a deeper understanding of how citizens think about cycling, as the best strategic plans are rooted in insight and fact-based information on a community. These research insights will help reveal social, economic, and consumer trends,” stated Atoba Longkumer, Nodal Officer, India Cycles4Change (Kohima)
Kick starting transformation
Kohima is one of the 107 cities that registered for the India Cycles4Change Challenge. As part of Stage 1 of the Challenge, cities will design and test pilot interventions. Based on the pilot initiatives and the city-wide proposals, 11 cities will be shortlisted for Stage 2 and will be awarded Rs 1 crore to further scale-up the project.
Based on the data from the perception survey, Kohima will work with its citizens to test out cycling-friendly interventions. For the pilot, the city has identified a 3.8km stretch from PHQ to Razhu Point and the neighborhood of Raj Bhavan Area, Officer’s Hill. They will further assess the major problems faced by cyclists on these routes.
“The city urges citizens from the neighboring areas to sign up as volunteers, to assist the city with data collection, testing, and implementation of the pilot.”
Citizens of all ages can express their interest by writing to ceo.smartcity.nagaland@gmail.com
