Mexico City’s New Bicycle Lane Unveiled

Posted: 01 Feb 2004

Related to: Mexico City Bicycle Planning, Planning & Advocacy for Cycling & Walking, Mexico
Contributed by: Bernardo Baranda, ITDP

On January 25, Mexico City opened its first 5 kilometers of a 90-kilometer long bike way network. The first corridor parallels part of the 10-lane Periferico ring road, one of those being double-decked, and loops through Chapultepec Park.

Photo: Cyclists crowd Mexico City’s new bicycle path. (Source: Bernardo Baranda)

The City Mayor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador borrowed a bike and rode about 250 meters on the launch day. This project which starts as a rails-to-trails bike path and will extend to the city center, contrasts with the recent opening of phase two of the double-deck project, the total cost of the Segundo Piso is $ 260 million.

On the other hand the 5-kilometer bike lane cost $9.5 million and is nicely tree-lined featuring bridges over five of the route’s intersections and four other crossings are at street level.

The city has now the challenge to promote the bicycle as a means of transportation; in the first week after the opening, the bike way has been visited with curiosity by cyclists as well as families since it is the encounter place in vogue. Last Sunday hundreds of Mexicans used it for recreational purposes. The network needs to be completed in order to have more cyclists that can go safely from home to work. In terms of security the city already had 60 poli-bikers (Policemen in bicycles) and some of them will be riding along the new lane.

Critics have also come part of everyday newspapers since January 25th, some cyclists say they have to contend with busy traffic and some parked cars; others say the bridges are too hilly and don’t follow the Dutch or Canadian standards; pedestrians complain because they have lost space over the cyclists. Surprisingly the only ones who have not complained are the motorist, probably because the bike ways have not taken space from the streets yet.

This is just the beginning and the new project needs support and planning for the upcoming lane and the network development, bicycle parking facilities should be built, a new regulation for a means of transportation that was ignored before needs to be written and more than anything promotion for its everyday use.