Integrate cycling routes, parking management and rentals to make bike-friendly
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu directed Transportation Department and Water Resources Department to promptly integrate cycling route planning, bike parking management and public bike rental service, and to solve related issues at the municipal meeting on 10/1/2013. He also encouraged private sectors to operate bike parking lots to solve the problem of insufficient parking space, so bike-friendly environment could be built.
During today’s meeting, Zhao Shaolian, the Director General of Transportation Department, Gu Zhaoge, the Director General of Water Resources Department, both made a project presentation for cycling route planning, bike rental system, bike road sign planning, cycling path lighting and bike route expansion. After the presentations, Mayor Chu indicated that everyone might use the cycling system regardless of going to work during weekdays or leisuring on holidays, and he inspired the two departments to greatly improve the three areas: bike route surface, bike parking management and public bike rentals.
Chu said that Water Resources Department had made many efforts on improving bike paths since last year, especially on the cycling path joint points between inside and outside as well as setting up road signs with different colors for different routes, so people could know where they were located more clearly, which was felt and desired by many citizens. He also encouraged the department to accelerate on perfecting the bike road signs and bike path entrances. Moreover, he said that Transportation Department should review and evaluate current cycling paths for commuters, and once a review and an evaluation were done, the department should explicitly improve those problematic route sections to assure the safety of cyclists.
Zhao Shaolian, the Director General of Transportation Department, represented that starting from 2014 the government would accelerate to expand and promote the New Taipei City’s public bicycle rental system. Recently some professional consultants had been entrusted to plan for the system, and for the first phase, 60 bike stations along with 1600 public bicycles would be first set up at Xizhi District and Xinzhuang District. For the second phase and the third phase, 100 stations along with 2800 bikes and 140 stations along with 3600 bikes would be set up separately on the surrounding areas of public transportation places. At the end of 2016, there would be totally 300 rental stations and 8000 public bikes ready.
Mayor Chu indicated that regarding about parking management, the government would not only keep increasing public parking lots or bike parking lots, but the government would also request the Transportation Department to come up with some ideas to encourage private sectors to participate in setting up bike parking lots to solve the problem of insufficient public parking space.