São Paulo Plans to Implement 173 km of New Bike Lanes, Connecting with Existing Lanes

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The plan provides for the creation of bicycle lanes on Henrique Schaumann and Rebouças Avenues, in the west zone of the city, to connect the existing ones on Sumaré, Paulista and Brigadeiro Faria Lima Avenues, reaching Engenheiro Luís Carlos Berrini, in the south zone.

The plan also provides for the relocation of 25 cycle lanes, for a total of 12 kilometers. The deadline for completion is the end of the mandate of Mayor Bruno Covas, in December 2020.

According to the City Hall, in order to develop the new project, the lack of integration with other public transport modes, public equipment and the existing road network itself were evaluated.

The existing structure on Rua Professor Gustavo Pires de Andrade, in the east zone, will cease to exist. On the other hand, new connections will be built on the Professor Luís Inácio de Anhaia Mello and Doutor Francisco Mesquita Avenues, reaching the Sacomã Terminal, in the south zone.

“Everything in the plan was discussed with civil society. In regard to relocations, on Duque de Caxias Avenue (downtown), we are taking the bike lane off the edges and bringing it to the central site, to return the road to merchants,” said the municipal secretary of Mobility and Transportation, Edson Caram.

Mauro Ricardo, the Government’s municipal secretary, said the City Hall has reassessed the bike lanes that have been implemented “without any connectivity with other public equipment” or other bike lanes.

“Every kilometer removed, however, will be compensated,” said Ricardo.

Covas’ management plans to go from the 503 kilometers of existing bicycle lanes to 676 by the end of 2020, with 173 new connections – 73 percent will be connected to public transports.

“We will connect the bike lanes that were, according to Mayor Bruno Covas, ‘spread about like oregano on pizza’. We are providing the functionality to what was previously done, connecting it to bus terminals, subway stations, and public spaces,” said Ricardo.

The bike lane of Radial Leste, which connects the Corinthians-Itaquera and Tatuapé subway stations, will get 5.7 kilometers and will reach downtown, in Dom Pedro II Park.

Out of the 310 kilometers expected to be renovated, 60 have already been delivered. Last month, Estado disclosed that only nine kilometers had been delivered in two and a half months since work began in August.

The report also showed that cyclists who used the revitalized stretches praised the new structure, but complained about the lack of signage on roads that had been erased and the lack of a detailed schedule.

The bike lane plan foresees an investment of R$325 million (US$81.24 million), together with a remodeling project which relies on R$250 million in resources.

According to the City Hall, ten public hearings and ten participative workshops organized by the Traffic Engineering Company (CET) and the Thematic Chamber of Bicycles (CTB) were held in order to develop the project.

The list of completed, planned and ongoing works is available on the CET website.

The services include the renovation of the asphalt flooring and the installation of the new standard signage with red paint only when approaching the crossings. Tackles are also installed at every meter.

In November, the CET stated that the border line is being made to alert drivers on the continuity of the bike lane.

Unlike the old asphalt painting, which was found all along the length in red and with safety pins and bolts, the new pattern features red paint only at ten meters approaching the crossings.

The remainder of the lane is designed with bicycle symbols on the asphalt and edge lines (red and white) dividing the space between bicycles and cars. Yellow pins are installed at each meter of the track, on top of the white band, which may vary according to the project.

Source: São Paulo São