After Failed Attempts, GVMC Plans New Cycle Tracks for Visakhapatnam
The move comes as part of a broader effort to improve recreational infrastructure and encourage healthier mobility options for residents
Visakhapatnam:GVMC has revived its push to promote cycling in Visakhapatnam, with commissioner Ketan Garg directing engineering officials to prepare fresh proposals for setting up dedicated cycle tracks across the city.
The move comes as part of a broader effort to improve recreational infrastructure and encourage healthier mobility options for residents.
During an inspection tour on Thursday, Garg visited several locations within GVMC limits, including Mudasarlova and the coastal stretch from Radisson Blu to Sagar Nagar. He was accompanied by GVMC chief engineer Satyanarayana Raju.
Garg asked officials to design a 5-km cycling track around Mudasarlova Park and another along the Radisson Blu–Sagar Nagar corridor. The commissioner also emphasized that the Mudasarlova track should be visually appealing, integrating aesthetics with public utility.
The renewed interest in cycling infrastructure, however, comes in the aftermath of failed attempts.
Seven years ago, both VMRDA and GVMC proposed a 27-km cycling track along the beach corridor from VMRDA Park to Bheemili. The project never materialised.
Officials say the existing beach road, with footpaths only three to four feet wide, cannot accommodate a dedicated cycling lane unless the corridor is widened in line with the VMRDA master plan. Without such expansion, carving out a cycle track could worsen the congestion and increase accident risks.
Past initiatives under the Smart City project also struggled for their start. In 2018, VMRDA created a short 300-metre “bicycle track” near its Siripuram by painting a section of the road green and marking it as a cycling track.Around the same time, then-GVMC commissioner Hari Narayana procured 100 bicycles to promote cycling along the beach road. The cycles were placed at four locations, including Kalimata Temple, Pandurangapuram and YMCA, and these were offered free to the public.
The programme continued for a brief period. The current status of these bicycles remains unclear. Even symbolic efforts, such as commissioners cycling to the GVMC office every Monday, eventually faded.
With new proposals now under way and plans to procure another batch of bicycles, officials hope the latest attempt would script success. Along with the cycling initiative, the GVMC engineering department has been asked to prepare estimates for installing a national flag near the TU-142 aircraft museum on Beach Road, within 75 to 100 metres of the submarine museum.
