Page 283 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 3

Cihan Erçetin

Cycling culture has not been properly created in Ankara due to the obstacles
against the bicycle use. These obstacles can be listed as the lack of existing
cycling route infrastructure and parking spaces, variable weather conditions,
long travel distances due to distant urban centers, irregular parking formations
on the road, poor air quality, and finally, the perception of cycling as a leisure
entertainment and sports vehicle rather than as a type of urban transportation
(AMM, 2020). In addition, the limited number and scope of bicycle parking
spaces in the city is also among these obstacles.
The first step in Türkiye to form a legal basis for cycling is the Regulation
on Cycling Routes, the final version of which entered into force at the end of
2019. The main purpose of this regulation is to determine the procedures and
principles related to the planning, design and construction of cycling paths
and bicycle parking stations in order to ensure that the bicycle can be used
for transportation purposes as well as for its use as a leisure entertainment
(Regulation on Cycling Routes, 2019).
The first step towards the planning of cycling paths throughout the country
is the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization’s ‘Cycling Paths for Intercity
Transportation and Tourism Masterplan Project’. It is aimed to connect cities as
part of a larger long-distance cycling network by means of this system. Ankara
is also an important part of this network.
The first step in holistic cycling path planning specifically for the city is the
Ankara Cycling Route Project, the planning phase of which was carried out
in coordination with EGO with the participation of important bicycle groups,
academics and implementing stakeholders in Ankara. A total of 53.7km
cycling route network which is planned in five separate stages including
Emek/Bahçelievler/Ulus, Dumlupınar Boulevard region, Ümitköy/Etimesgut,
Batıkent and Eryaman regions, consists of various routes largely connecting
universities to public transport stations and stops as well as residential areas
to public transport (EGO, 2022). Moreover, first stations of ‘Electric Bicycle
Sharing System’ were established and started to be implemented in 2022.
‘Cycle Strategy, Masterplan and Pilot Implementation Project for
Integrated, Non-Motorized and Multi-Modal Transportation in Ankara’
is the most comprehensive project in which the cycling network in Ankara
is planned to be fully integrated with public transportation along with the
bicycle sharing systems and bicycle parking spaces; designing phase
of this project was completed by the end of 2021. This project includes a
275-kilometer cycling path network plan funded by Foreign, Commonwealth
and Development Office of United Kingdom (FCDO) and the United Nations
Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) within the scope of the Global
Cities of the Future Program. In addition, it covers the determination of current

268 Journal of Environment, Urbanization and Climate