Chandigarh’s 200-km bicycle-track network is facing illegal parking, unauthorised vending, broken streetlights, damaged kerbs and roadside dumping, forcing cyclists into traffic and raising safety concerns across several parts of the city.
The network, built to provide cyclists with safer and uninterrupted movement away from busy roads, has become difficult to use in multiple locations because of obstructions and maintenance failures. Cyclists and residents have reported parked vehicles, vendors, stored construction material, horticulture waste and damaged infrastructure along stretches of the tracks.
City cyclist Ramnik Singh said the obstructions often leave cyclists with no option but to move onto the main carriageway. “The tracks are meant to provide cyclists with a safe, uninterrupted passage, but when vehicles, vendors, and other obstructions take over, we are forced to negotiate our way around them or move onto the main road, in the direct path of fast traffic,” he said.
Parking-related congestion has been reported near Apni Mandi and the day market in Sector 43A on Jan Marg, Dhanas on Dakshin Marg, Sector 34B near Sarovar Path and V5 Road, and V4 roads in sectors 29, 40 and 46. Rakesh Sharma, a Sector 45 resident, said poor parking management was reducing space for both cyclists and pedestrians. “Enforcement cannot be limited to occasional drives; it has to be regular,” he said.
The positioning of some vending sites has also affected bicycle tracks, footpaths, green spaces, slip roads and parking areas. Locations identified in the report include the slip road at Junction 45 in Sector 38D and Junction 33 on Dakshin Marg in Sector 35A. These conflicts place cycling infrastructure alongside competing demands for vending, parking and roadside access without maintaining a clear passage for non-motorised transport.
Lighting failures are adding another safety concern. Tracks along Sukhna Path, Himalaya Marg and Maloya have reportedly remained poorly lit because of non-functional streetlights and missing or broken fittings. Manisha Jha, a cycling enthusiast from Sector 40, said a poorly lit track becomes difficult to use after dark and called for regular inspections and timely replacement of damaged fittings.
Streetlight poles near the Grain Market on Chandi Path in Sector 26 also require structural repairs and protective measures after being exposed to vehicle impacts. Damaged kerbs across parts of the network are further reducing the usable width of the tracks and creating obstacles for cyclists.
Chandigarh’s bicycle-track planning dates back to the early 2000s. In December 2002, the Union Territory administration announced plans for almost 167 km of tracks along major V2 and V3 roads. Expansion gathered pace in 2017, followed by approval for another 99 km in November 2018. The network has since exceeded 200 km.
The current concerns therefore extend beyond the construction of new cycling infrastructure. They involve the day-to-day coordination required to keep the tracks accessible, including parking enforcement, vending management, streetlight maintenance, repairs and the removal of roadside waste and material. Multiple departments are involved in addressing these issues.
A UT official said the administration regularly maintains the tracks and that issues involving other departments are taken up through coordination between the police, engineering department, estate office and Chandigarh Housing Board. Authorities now face pressure to clear the reported obstructions, restore lighting and repair damaged sections so the network can continue serving cyclists as a separate transport system.
