City thinks green in bike-only lanes plan

SHANGHAI urban construction authorities said yesterday that they would set up more bicycle lanes citywide between major transport roads and hubs in order to expand the coverage of bike-rental services.

This will come as good news for green supporters and commuters alike.

The final trip home after alighting from public transport is a nuisance for many commuters.

This last stage was referred to by traffic planners as "the very last three kilometers," between homes, schools, or communities to traffic hubs, Xu Xuefeng, a Shanghai People's Congress delegate, said yesterday.

"Such a service will be convenient for a large number of commuters and important to the city's low-carbon ecological development," Xu said at a meeting with construction commission officials.

Commission officials said they had already started combing road conditions citywide in preparation for building bike-connection lanes between major streets, bus and Metro stations.

"Construction of support facilities, such as bike parking spots, will follow," the commission said in a statement.

The city government recently enacted a regulation setting up stricter restrictions on outdoor advertising.

Operators of low-cost bike-rental businesses are believed to have been hit by the new rule as no advertisements are allowed inside campuses and residential complexes.

The advertisements had been a source of income for these business operators.

Despite this hiccup, bike-rental businesses have been promised more support by the construction authorities.

The city's transport bureau told Congress delegates it would integrate bike-rental services in more of under-construction Metro stations, especially in outlying areas.

Shanghai started offering bike-rental services on a trial basis last year in Zhangjiang High-tech Park in Pudong.

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