THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Coastal Cycling Tourism Destination Project (CCTDP), mooted by Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council, will piggy-ride the Coastal Highway Project, enhancing inclusivity, fostering innovation and creating employment opportunities across sectors. This initiative has the potential to develop Kerala as the most preferred cycle tourism destination. The rough cost estimate for developing the 656-km coastal highway will be around Rs 6,100 crore, another Rs 1,000 crore will be needed for cycling tracks. To include cycle tracks and cater to pedestrian activities, the Right of Way would ideally have to be increased to minimum of 15 m. This includes a shoulder width of 2.5 m on either side of the road.
The biggest challenge for the Coastal Highway Project is in acquiring land of sufficient width and the rehabilitation challenges it poses. Where land is available for building separate cycle tracks along a side of the road, separate cycle tracks can be constructed along one side of the road. These cycle tracks can be separated by a raised kerb or by lane markings on the side of the road. Where there are missing links in the coastal highway alignment and where it would be unviable to complete the highway, the cycling route should be diverted into the bye-routes that go into the interior of the adjacent town or village. After the necessary detour the cycling route then rejoins the coastal highway line.
These routes can be identified with white broken lines and reduced speed limits can be imposed on these lanes within the towns and villages. Alongside such cycling routes within towns and villages, special safety precautions and GPS guided monitoring of cyclists with the help of the Police Department would be highly desirable. Cycling is also emerging as a fast-growing sport and recreation in the state. A sizably large number of persons especially in the 15-50 age group have taken to cycling for both health and recreational reasons. The strong presence of cycling associations and clubs would clearly vouch for this trend. Different groups of cyclists have expressed wholehearted and enthusiastic support.
Many of them would readily become volunteers to assist cycle tourists locally along their ride. The Kerala Cycling Association accredited to the Cycling Federation of India is the official cycling association of Kerala. In addition, there are a significant number of cycling clubs and local events in the State. The talent and enthusiasm of the members in these institutions can be leveraged to position Kerala as premier destination for coastal cycling tourism. The involvement and participation of the local communities along the coastal highway is paramount for the success of an initiative like this. To provide a diverse range of boarding and lodging facility and cuisine experience for the cyclists, it is possible for local fishing community societies or Kudumbashree units to step into this area. Similarly the support of these units can be roped in to maintain hygiene to enhance the tourism experience of the cyclist.
It aims to reduce poverty among coastal communities by creating new economic activities and opportunities and employment in the coastal areas comparatively high density of population in these areas. One of the critical success factors that will determine the viability and sustainability of this project will be the comfort and convenience that can be ensured for the cyclists in terms of good, hygienic and affordable boarding and lodging facilities along the cycling route. In addition several economic opportunities will also emerge in terms of new businesses, maintenance work, waste management, and environmental preservation.
While excellent hotel services are available along the coast and in proximity to the famed beaches of Kerala, the fact remains that most of these hotels cater to the upper income segment of cyclists. If the CCTDP is to take firm roots and contribute significantly to the economy of the state and the coastal region, it will be imperative to develop affordable, right-priced boarding and lodging facility for the domestic and international cycling tourists who are in the lower and middle income group. Together, this can provide many benefits to ensure development of the local communities.
CCTDP will be managed primarily by the Department of Tourism. The Department can take the leading role in coordinating the efforts of departments for spearheading the CCTD Project. This will call for accrediting boarding and lodging facilities, launching a promotion campaign both for domestic and international tourism, liaising with other State Departments and District Agencies and involving District Tourism Promotion Councils in facilitating the experience of cycle tourists who arrive in the State.
Direct contacts may also be established with Adventure Tourism Companies and Cycling Associations abroad to attract international tourists to the State. Cycling associations and cycling clubs could play a major role in this regard. Cycling associations can organise welcoming and chaperoning support on demand. The entire coastal highway could be virtually segregated into stretches where cycling associations could take turn in chaperones. This idea of providing some kind of escort/guide services is prevalent in other parts of the world, and could be adapted here. ‘Team Chaperone’ in Wales in United Kingdom is an example. Cycle associations and civil society volunteers including students from other efficient programs such as National Service Scheme, and Student Police Cadets will be roped in to plant appropriate trees and shrubs along the track to ensure a shaded path and to help maintain the environment along the track.
Disaster Management
The cycling track will be an invaluable layer of defense in the disaster management structure in the State. This is because, it is possible to strengthen the edges of the coast abutting the coastal highway with manmade protective structures. These structures are designed to stop or reduce the natural movement of sand by the waves. If the walls are maintained, they may hold back the ocean temporarily. This also yields some protection against natural landward migration of an eroding beach.
Safety
Observance of Cycle Lane courtesies and consideration for cyclists: What makes the cycling experience enjoyable for the cycling tourist is when the person feels that he or she does not have to compete aggressively for lane space with other modes of transport and that the environment in which the ride takes place practices and culture around cycling tourism to emerge in the State. A determinant of the success of CCTDP will be the measure of comfort that both international and domestic cyclists will have as to their safety and well-being along the route.
Bicycling sharing and rental facilities
The availability of high quality cycles of different range of prices to suit the tastes and pockets of different segments of cycle tourists is an important consideration. In this connection it would be desirable to popularize bicycle-sharing and bicycle rental facilities. For this, it would be necessary to initiate discussions with cycle manufacturers and form tie-ups. A brief outline of bicycle-sharing and bicycle-renting is given below: In a bicycle-sharing system, public bicycle system, or bike-share scheme, bicycles are made available for shared use to individuals on a very short-term basis for a price. These arrangements have become very popular in many cities and towns across the world.
To make bike-share systems popular and to build awareness, in several cities the first 30–45 minutes of use either free or very inexpensive. Bike rentals are more common where long durations of several hours or days of cycling is involved. Smartphone mapping apps show nearby stations with available bikes and open docks have proved very useful to cyclists. Feature like simple opening and locking mechanisms, convenient mobile payment, wireless communication with service providers, a global positioning system service and automatic recording of date, time, and distance travelled are part of high-technology integration into these systems
Local community groups or non-profit organisations also take the lead in organising bike sharing programmes - “Community Bike programmes” as done in IIT Bombay. “Smart Bike programmes” implemented by government agencies sometimes in a public–private partnership as in London, or “smart bike programmes” operated by private companies as is the case in most cities in China. Bicycle-sharing systems have also been cited as a way to solve the “last mile” problem and connect users to public transit networks. In the system of “dockless” bike shares, the user need not return the bike to a kiosk or station and instead the next user can find it by GPS.
The State Government is currently pushing an e-mobility programme under the umbrella programme initiated by the Centre under the Ministry of Heavy Industries. Kerala has set up a Task Force on e-mobility headed by Dr. Ashok Jhunjunwalla of IIT, Chennai. The State intends to provide an ecosystem for the adoption as well as manufacturing of the electronic vehicles, accessories and power systems necessary for this. An electric bicycle, also known as an e-bike, powerbike or booster bike, is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor which can be used for propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, from e-bikes that only have a small motor to assist the rider's pedal-power (i.e., pedelecs) to somewhat more powerful e-bikes which tend closer to moped-style functionality.
