Lagos is a city relying heavily on road use by private cars and public buses. With the growth of population, inadequate maintenance of the road network, badly maintained cars, insufficient public transport planning, and weak policies on pollution & climate change, roads are congested and pollution is on the rise. It is therefore timely to explore possibilities for introducing cycling as a sustainable non-motorized transportation mode for Lagos which also enhances mobility for the urban poor and increases interaction among nearly all groups. Just like investing in an efficient public transport system, investing in cycling entails social, economic and environmental benefits for cities.
This didn’t go unnoticed with relevant stakeholders in Lagos as could be noticed in a roundtable organised by the Heinrich Boll Foundation and Future Lagos. The Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LAMATA) is in the process of preparing its own suggestions for bikeable roads; landscape architects from the Department of Urban Planning and Regional Development, UNILAG, are doing research on off-road cycling; and the private club “Cycologist” is organising regular bike tours within and outside Lagos to promote the beneficial aspects of biking.
Watch this video which highlights some of the issues discussed during the event. A proposal for reviving the biking culture in FESTAC residential area will follow soon, UNILAG students are currently working on it in close cooperation with FESTAC residents and authorities.
