Published 02/04/2024 00:00
The subject interests me, especially, because I am a frequent user of this transport model. Whether for a work schedule or to practice healthy physical exercise, you can see me passing along the Tim Maia cycle path at one time and, at another time, going up Vista Chinesa or riding through the center of Rio.
But even though we are making progress, I always get the feeling that Rio can make further progress. It is necessary, for example, that different areas of the city can be connected by well-structured cycle paths, enabling circulation over longer perimeters. Have you ever stopped to think about how difficult it is to go from the North Zone to the South Zone cycling?
Furthermore, areas further away from the Center of Rio, such as the West Zone, need to be on the list of priorities, so that the use of bicycles is present in everyday life, being a decisive complement to connecting people’s homes to mass transport.
We need to expand the implementation of bicycle racks to central points in the city, especially close to Metro and BRT stations. Much more than parking lots, bicycle racks function as a space that facilitates movement, promoting integration between modes.
We can also move forward in relation to a point that has been generating a lot of debate: why don’t cycle paths have appropriate speed limits for the routes, as is the case with cars and buses? It is up to the Municipal Transport Department and only it, which is the traffic authority, to establish these maximum values and monitor them, but also to provide good signage to prevent accidents.
The road ahead is long, but possible – and necessary! Encouraging Rio to become the city of bicycles, in the context of Brazil and Latin America, is an imperative in the construction of a modern, efficient and more sustainable metropolis.
