PETALING JAYA (May 30): The Kuala Lumpur bicycle lanes are safe for use, according to audits conducted by Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), said Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) Civil Engineering and Urban Transportation Department director Abdul Hamid Surip.

“The audits carried out by Ikram and UTM have been completed and both showed the cycle lanes are safe. The slip resistance value on the entire track is higher than the required level of 50. So it is actually very safe,” he told EdgeProp.my.

However, he noted that some improvements can be carried out on the 11.84km track to further enhance its safety such as putting up flexible poles along the track to separate vehicles and bicycles.

It was also suggested that some areas such as the one-way Jalan Raja Laut where there are cycling tracks on both the left and right side can be re-routed to only one side.

“We will conduct a public survey and cycling associations to find out what else can be improved. The input will also help our future planning,” he said,

Meanwhile, DBKL is mulling bicycle lanes in residential areas such as Wangsa Maju and Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) that will connect cyclists to the nearest transit station, such as the mass rapid transit (MRT) station.

Earlier this year, the KL bicycle lanes came under the spotlight due to its RM4 million implementation cost which some viewed as too high.

There were also incidents involving motorcyclists running into the separators installed on the bicycle lanes. DBKL has since removed the separators and committed to a safety audit of the track.