City cycle lanes have become an issue again in recent weeks since an improved track around Chitralada Palace caused a furore on social media over it being supposedly impractical, with its construction damaging big tree roots.
A group of green advocates has expressed concerns over the new bike lane built by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) in Dusit district and called on authorities to find ways of properly managing trees lining lanes.
The green group comprises Yossapon Boonsom, Wipakorn Thamwimon and Pranisa Boonkham from the Thai Association of Landscape Architects and Nonlany Ungwiwatkul from the Bangkok Bicycle Campaign.
Responding to their call, deputy Bangkok governor Jumpol Sampaopol agreed to meet with green advocates and relevant authorities last week to discuss ways and means of ensuring big trees are not damaged during street work and construction projects.
The meeting also drew officials from the Traffic and Transport Department (TTD), which is responsible for constructing sidewalks and bike lanes, the Department of Public Works, responsible for designing cycle lanes, and the Environment Department, responsible for caring for big trees along them.
The meeting resulted in an agreement to set up a committee, comprising government officials and the public, to find ways of reducing the impact of bike lanes on tree roots.
According to a source at the BMA, the bike lane in question, spanning 12km around Chitralada Palace and Dusit Zoo, will cost 130 million baht.
According to a survey by the group on June 1, the construction work is 80% complete. The completed work includes a 5-cm-thick concrete footpath and a bike lane zigzagging through lines of big trees around the palace.
"We found the zigzagging bike lane was being laid over the tree roots. Marks were on trees. Roots were damaged," Mr Yossaporn said.
He feared the damaged roots may lead to the trees falling over.
He cited a tree with damaged roots at Ransit University that fell over during a storm because the tree was not anchored to the ground well enough.
A tree root has been cut away to make way for a cycle lane around Chitralada Palace.
He urged authorities responsible for taking care of trees to thoroughly study a project's impact on tree roots, saying every single baht of a budget comes from taxpayers' money.
"Reworking a project means additional costs," he said, demanding that authorities repair bike lanes which are not in good shape to entice cyclists to use them.
Mr Yossapon also expressed concerns about impractical plans for bike lanes and called on authorities to promote lanes that are not used much by cyclists.
Mongkol Wijirana, head of the Thai Cycling for Health Association, strongly criticised the BMA for failing to hold public hearings over bike lanes.
He urged authorities to improve infrastructure such as footpaths to ensure easy access for disabled people, as well as for able-bodied people.
A shared lane is more practical than a restrictive one, he added.
Avid cyclist Chatchawan Seangsuthiwong said the bike lane project by the BMA is not financially worthwhile, saying only a handful of cyclists use the lanes.
He had observed the number of users who had used lanes in Phra Nakhon district and found that on average only one cyclist uses the lane per hour while the lanes around the Rattanakosin area were usually packed with cyclists between 8-9pm. Most riders tend to ride bicycles for exercise rather than using them as a means of commuting.
He said if anything, bike lanes may worsen traffic congestion in the city.
He urged the BMA to build more bike lanes in public parks to cater to the needs of people who wish to cycle recreationally.
Wajara Kanchanasut, an architect at the TTD's Traffic Engineering Division and who is a member of the design team for bike lanes, defended the criticism directed at his team that it had created an ill-conceived project, saying the lanes were designed in response to cyclists' needs.
He cited a survey that revealed bike lanes on Lat Phrao Road had received positive feedback from people who bike around the city daily. They said the lanes were linked to public transport, which provided easy access for them.
Mr Wajara, however, admitted that existing lanes would not meet the requirements of cyclists who like to cycle for pleasure.
He said his team up until now had focused on one-way bike traffic along roads, but now plans to build additional bike lanes in public parks.
The construction of protected bike lanes around the city is a challenging job, Mr Wajara noted, because the city has different road surfaces throughout.
He noted that cyclists have different skill levels, which means protected bike lanes are perfect for amateur cyclists whereas skilled cyclists would also feel comfortable using shared bike lanes.
Mr Wajara vowed his team will do its best to design lanes that meet the exact needs of all cyclists.
He said that there are a limited number of cyclists who use bike lanes in the city partly because the lanes are not linked.
There are also no bicycle traffic laws, which leaves cyclists uncertain about road safety, he said.
The BMA has no intention of scrapping existing bike lanes around the city, Mr Wajara said.
Authorities, in fact, are planning to improve them to encourage cyclists to make more use of them.
Routes that are destined for improvement include lanes on Phetkasem Road from Kanchanaphisek to the end of Bangkok City; from the Lat Phrao area to the Chatuchak area; Charan Sanitwong Road; and along Phahon Yothin Road.
The BMA has installed 48 bike lanes around the capital, totaling 298 km.
There are six different types of bike lanes; left-most part on the road, shared path with pedestrians; shared lane on the road; designated lane on pavement; protected lane on the road; cycling lane in public parks.
12 most popular lanes are:
1. Phetkasem Road from Kanchanaphisek to the end of Bangkok City with 175 cyclists per hour.
2. Around Rattanakosin are, with 141 cyclists per hour.
3. Ramkhamhaeng, from Klong Bang Chan to Romklao, with 125 cyclists per hour.
4. Charan Sanitwong Road, from Charan Sanitwong Soi 5-Soi 65, with 95 cyclists per hour.
5. Lat Phrao, from Lat Phrao five intersection to Happy Land market, with 93 cyclists per hour.
6. Phahol Yothin Road from Bang Sue to the Fifth Constitution Monument, with 76 cyclists per hour.
7. Arun Amarin Road, from Rama VIII Bridge to Arun Amarin Intersection, with 62 cyclists per hour.
8. Sukhumvit Road from Tha Reau railway to Sukhumvit 81 with 62 cyclists per hour.
9. Sukhaphiban 5 Road from Or Ngern to Phahol Yothin Soi 54 with 62 cyclists per hour.
10. Rat Burana Road, from Charoen Nakhon Road to the end of Bangkok City, with 45 cyclists per hour.
11. Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Road from Surawong to Rama 3 Road with 31 cyclists per hour.
12. Charoen Nakhon Road, from Lat Ya to Rat Burana Road, with 17 cyclists per hour.