KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): The Kuala Lumpur bicycle lane, which is in the process of being audited, may see existing tracks re-routed to ensure the safety of its users, said Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz.

For example, the one-way Jalan Raja Laut has a cycling track on both the left and right side, but based on the observation of Kuala Lumpur City Hall and discussions with other parties, the city council may consider removing the lane on the left side to give way for buses to stop at the roadside and take passengers, said Mohd Amin.

He noted that this, however, will depend on the outcome of the audit report, which is expected to be completed in the next one or two months.

“Most probably [the audit of the lane may involve re-routing] but we wouldn’t know as they [the auditor] are still doing the auditing. So far, they had just finished the testing of the surface of the bicycle lane, which is considered safe [according to the result],” he told reporters at the flag-off along a 1.3km stretch of the bicycle lane this morning.

He assured that the city council will improve the 11.84km cycling track. “We received a lot of negative comments, but we will surely improve the cycling track. We are waiting for the auditor to give us the audit report and we will make some improvements, re-adjust the track and [enhance] the safety aspect.”

He noted that the first adjustment for the lane was to replace the rubber bicycle lane separators with “flexipoles”.

“In certain parts of Kuala Lumpur, we already installed the flexipoles and we are doing auditing on the other areas currently,” he said.

When asked if the re-route of the track would incur additional cost, he said: “We foresee some additional cost [for re-routing] and also the extension of the cycling track [to outer Kuala Lumpur]. But it is not a problem as we have the allocation and we will spend wisely and [ensure it is] value for money.”

In response to criticism of the RM4 million cost for the bicycle lane being too expensive, Mohd Amin said: “I don’t think so. The cycling track is a very basic facility that the people of Kuala Lumpur need and just like other cities, we have to have the facility.”

He explained that it is an essential infrastructure for people and tourists in the city to travel fr

Mohd Amin was speaking at the “Cycling Kuala Lumpur” event, which was held in conjunction with the 9th World Urban Forum (WUF9).

“With the conference of WUF9 now on the way, we want to show the world that we can also do the cycling track, which will be another mode of transportation in the city. As you know, Kuala Lumpur is one of the cities that has traffic congestions, like Bangkok and Jakarta, even though we already have the MRT (mass rapid transit), LRT (light rail transit) and monorail.

“We hope with the cycling track in the city, people will start cycling from their homes to Kuala Lumpur, or they can use public transportation like the MRT [to go to the city] and take a bicycle to go to their offices. So this will be a very good start for the people of Kuala Lumpur to start cycling to their offices and it will be a good impact on the tourism of Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

Also present at the event were Netherlands Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag, the Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail, Penang mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif and InvestKL CEO Datuk Zainal Amanshah.