For a Cleaner Bangalore

Stumbled upon this piece that I wrote when I was in the 7th grade. Quite a significant time, as that was the year that I changed schools. Here it is:


Introduction 

As per the survey conducted by Breathe Blue 15, the Garden City has 14% of school going children suffering because of air pollution. Bangalore is at the second place in the list of most polluted cities in India. Bangalore is in the grip of rising air pollution. Official ambient air quality monitoring has already shown 57% increase in four years (2010- 2014) and increase of 23% in one year. With more number of vehicles added everyday, the resultant congestion, dieselisation and air pollution is a grave concern for the Garden City of Bangalore. It is unfortunate to see the dominant commuting practices of using the bus and walking are taking a backseat which is leading to unclean air and deteriorating health.

The way forward
The solution I am proposing for the city of Bangalore would be to make Bangalore the cycling capital of India. Improving the public transportation system with more BMTC buses or the proposed Metro lines will take its own time. It is our collective duty to come up with sustainable solutions for transportation in the meantime. To make Bangalore the cycling capital, I am suggesting the following proposal:

a) Create a separate cycle lane for cyclists.
b) Provide incentives for people using the cycle lane.

Citizens should be provided tax benefits for purchasing bicycles. Each cycle will be fitted with a smart-scanning device which will keep track of the distance travelled in the cycling lane. For every 5 kilometres the cyclist should receive an incentive of Rs 25. Depending on certain milestones achieved such as 500 kilometres or 1000 kilometres, they should get privileges in banks, airports, hospitals, the future Metro and other public utilities and citizen services.

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Learn from Amsterdam

The city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands also faced a similar situation like Bangalore in the early 1960's. Dutch cities were increasingly encouraging motorists with fuel based cars seen as the transport of the future. It took the fierce activism and protests to turn Amsterdam into the cycling capital of the world. The loss of life due to traffic causalities led to protests, the most memorable one being "Stop de Kindermoord"(Stop the Child Murder). The protests found a lot of support from the citizens and held bicycle demonstrations, occupied accident spots and organised special days during which, children could play on the streets.

This group of activists went on to develop ideas for safer urban planning which, to begin with, resulted in friendly streets with speed humps and bends to force cars to drive very slowly. Later, another group of activists demanded more space for bicycles in the public spaces. They organised bike rides on dangerous streets of Amsterdam, compiling issues and problems encountered. This gathered a lot of support from the politicians and in the end, Amsterdam got a dedicated bicycle lane. The oil crisis of 1973 also led to more people choosing bicycles over fuel based cars. Today, Netherlands boasts of 22,000 miles of cycle paths. The popularity of bikes are still growing, due to the technological advancement and development of electric bicycles


Conclusion 

Amsterdam is a great example to learn from the Western world wherein an estimated 38% of all trips in the city are made by bicycle compared to 2% of London. The city of Bangalore will also need a similar citizen's movement to gather support and request help from the authorities to make Bangalore the cycling capital of the country. Let's reclaim the good old charm of the Garden City. This may also need imposing sanctions or heavy toll taxes for using motorized vehicles.