Examination of newly established bicycle lanes in Sri Lanka with special reference to Piliyandala and Katubedda

Abstract

With the increasing use of motorized modes and related infrastructure, different issues such as traffic congestion, environment pollution and road accidents made cities not liveable for citizens. Promoting Non-Motorized Transportation (NMT) modes is the emerging substitution against this issue. Sri Lankan government recently promote bicycle lanes following the concept of, “world bike to work day”. Under this project, few bicycle lanes were promoted in several towns including Piliyandala and Malabe. Although this was meant to reduce the traffic and make cities environmentally friendly, accidents increased in the areas of Katubedda and Piliyandala, after implementing the bicycle lanes. While appreciating the initiation of promoting bicycle lanes, research findings show the requirement of promoting proper infrastructure to encourage bicycle riding. Accordingly, this research suggests a GIS based bikeability index, to evaluate the bikeability (ability to ride) of bicycle lanes, for the betterment of decision making. In order to develop the index research derived different variables through literature research and, were validated through interviews with bicycle riders of Piliyandala-Katubedda bicycle lane. The results received after applying the developed index, highlighted the areas of Piliyandala-Katubedda bicycle lane, which might lead to severe traffic issues and life losses, if the existing design exist for long.