In 2020, Kathmandu is set to host the World Bicycle Forum, a yearly cycling activism event that brings together cycling enthusiasts from all around the world. They gather to discuss (and advocate for) bicycles as a mode for urban mobility. Nepal had been chosen as the host of the forum’s ninth edition by voters from different countries at an event in Peru back in February. But as activists talk of making Kathmandu cycle-friendly, the how prepared is city to accommodate commuter cycles on its narrow and busy streets? 

“The hosting of the World Bicycle Forum in Kathmandu is an opportunity to invite international bicycle experts, and experienced bicycle activists and get them to experience the city from the perspective of cyclists,” says Shail Shrestha, Founding President of Cycle City Network Nepal, the coordinators for the World Bicycle Forum 2020. “This will give us valuable inputs on how to make Kathmandu a cycle-friendly city.” 

The organizers hope the event will make the government and other stakeholders realize that Kathmandu can be turned into a cycle-friendly city with minimal intervention and investment, thus solving the problems of traffic and pollution. The logic being: Kathmandu valley has a 27-km circumference (the length of the Ring Road), with a radius of around four km. To get to the city center from any point on the periphery on a bicycle, it takes a maximum of half an hour at a speed of 8 km-per-hour. 

Cycling as a mode of daily commute is rare in the valley. Motorized vehicles clog its important transport arteries, making rush hour traffic unmanageable. Also, from a layman’s perspective, cycling in Kathmandu is almost a matter of life and death as cyclists have to jostle for space on congested roads with motorbikes, cars and other public vehicles speeding menacingly between unclear lanes. There are few designated cycling lanes as such, no separate crossings for cyclists, and no cycle parking facilities. To make matter worse, they have to breathe in the toxic air. 

Saving time and energy 

The existing 1.8-km Tilganga-Sinamangal and 2.7-km Tinkune-Maitighar cycling lanes are inadequately equipped for cyclists. Cycle Track Assessment of Tinkune-Maitighar track carried out by Clean Air Network Nepal reports that the track is “inconsistent, poorly designed, and improperly networked, all of which impede seamless mobility of the users.” Despite the hindrances, cycling has its own benefits as a means of daily commute. It saves time and fuel and, while you are at it, you also get a thorough exercise. 

“Cycling in Kathmandu is difficult because of the dust, heavy traffic and reckless motorists who scare away most cyclists,” says Sameer Mani Dixit, a renowned scientist and a cycling activist. “But it is not impossible to cycle here. When you are aware of these urban hazards and adapt accordingly, it can be a convenient way of commuting.” Dixit prefers to cycle to work and is also actively involved in advocating pedal-powered mobility in the city. “If the government takes the initiative to build designated cycling lanes and parking lots and to incorporate cycling rules and regulations in the traffic management system, Kathmandu can be a cycle city, and with a lot less pollution and traffic jams,” Dixit says. 

In 2009 a concerned group of youths and cycling activists started the informal Kathmandu Cycle City 2020 initiative, which in 2013 took the form of the Cycle City Network Nepal. An activist-led group, the CCNN is preparing to host the World Bicycle Forum and is hopeful about establishing cycling as a sustainable alternative in order to manage pollution and traffic congestion. “Kathmandu can be a model for the world in creating a vehicle-free transit, especially as it can also help save the beauty of the ancient towns inside the valley and to create a sustainable future city,” Shrestha says. “We are collaboration with multiple municipalities, ministries, embassies and organizations to make this event possible.” 

The Kathmandu Municipality’s Policies and Programs for 2074/2075 (2017-18) envisions a ‘cycle city blueprint.’ To make vehicular movement safe and convenient, the municipality lists a number of ways to encourage cycling. For instance it plans to create a cycling network in coordination with neighboring municipalities. Also, it is planning to build “smart cycle parking stations” and cycle tracks for the whole circumference of the Ring Road as well as in the corridor roads of Bagmati River and its tributaries. But compared to the dirty and expensive road expansion projects, the cost of energy-efficient mobility is nominal.

Narrow minds

“The roads are not narrow here. It is our attitude that is narrow,” says Bhushan Tuladhar, environmental expert and a prominent figure in the cycling community of Kathmandu. “All our development is focused on widening the roads for vehicles. We treat cars as indicators of development and have created a vicious circle of road widening which will never end as the number of motorized vehicles keep increasing”. 

He advises that instead of haphazard road expansion, our focus should be multimodal transport with prioritized infrastructures for walking, cycling and public transport, which together will “save our time and money, as well as our environment.” 

At present, Nepal spends billions in import of vehicles and petroleum products. In 2016/17, the Nepal Oil Corporation imported around 2.21 million KL petroleum products worth Rs 110 billion, which is a 40 percent increase from the previous year. An estimated 30 percent of the total import is consumed in the valley. Similarly, the import bill of transport vehicles and their parts totaled Rs 73.7 billion. This is the primary reason for the country’s mounting trade deficits. Add to these costs the continuous need for road widening, development and repairs. 

The problem is, we do not understand the difference between a street and a road, says Tuladhar. Only well-developed urban roads can be called streets, he explains. “While our ancestors planned their roads, streets and empty places very well. But now we’re designing our cities only for cars.”




 














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