Developing plans and programs to create more infrastructure for cyclists, in accordance with the provisions of Law 9660 on Cycling Mobility, is one of the requests of different groups of cyclists who fight for the road safety of those who ride a bicycle.
Due to the fact that more people are using this means of transportation, organizations such as ACONVIVIR, Amigos Bike, ARCA, Amigos Mountain Bike, Amigos en Cleta, among others, make the request.
They also want all the provisions of Law 9660 to be fulfilled, especially the points that indicate the development of cantonal cycling plans, municipal budgets for the development of bicycle lanes, among others.
Urban Cleteada
In order for the call to have a greater reach, these organizations planned an “Urban Cleteada”, an event that will take place on Sunday, June 4th, at 8 a.m. It will leave from Parque del Prado in Curridabat (300 meters south of Plaza del Sol) to La Sabana and back.
Jorge Mora, from the Las Luciérnagas urban cycling collective, commented that “we intend to call on the government authorities, the municipalities and especially the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation so that they also develop campaigns for the pacification of automotive traffic and for the respect of pedestrians and cyclists”.
He also mentioned that the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Education (MEP), must implement education and road safety courses in schools and colleges, as indicated by the Cyclistic Mobility Law.
A solution for a sedentary lifestyle and traffic congestion
This group of organizations highlighted within the framework of World Bicycle Day, that this means of transport is a way to solve the congestion on the roads and the sedentary lifestyle and obesity suffered by the population.
“The bicycle as a means of urban transportation is the best solution to health problems caused by obesity, which costs the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) billions of colones,” said Mora.Likewise, he stressed that transporting by bicycle reduces noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, which are caused by motor vehicles.
