The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) has taken a policy decision to change their building rules for a mandatory provision to reserve space for parking bicycles with docking system in all high-rise residential and commercial establishments, including multiplexes, shopping malls and office complexes across New Town. An advisory will be issued soon in this regard.
Officials said they came up with the idea of reserving parking space for bicycles in high-rises after some residents using bicycles daily said that they often face parking problems in such establishments, with security guards asking them to park their bicycles at the basement. The NKDA authorities were also told that the security guards posted at the gates of various shopping malls often do not allow bicycles to enter the premises.
The NKDA officials discussed this issue recently and decided to advise the buildings, which cover 6 cottah of plot, to turn the adjacent car parking areas near the entrance into bicycle parking spaces along with docks for locking these two-wheelers. A light plastic trampoline roof should also be constructed, said the officials.
“A formal advisory in this regard will be issued soon and multiplexes, shopping mall, corporate houses and large gated communities will be contacted over video-conferencing this week. Necessary steps for changing the building rules will also be taken to come up with a mandatory provision to make reserved spaces for parking bicycles in all high-rise residential and commercial complexes,” said an official.
Several initiatives are being taken in the township to encourage people to ride bicycles, according to the officials. Already 17-km of dedicated bicycle tracks have been set up while the App-based public sharing bicycle scheme is set to be relaunched on Tuesday. Cycling events are being organized with training camps on Sunday and a mobile cycle repair clinic will also come up soon.
