NOV. 15 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bicycle lanes cut through many major cities in the developed world. They are, perhaps, a public luxury that wealthy, well organised societies can afford and away from Europe or North America are far less common. Roads have to be smooth, drivers disciplined and the public has to be wealthy enough to be concerned with both traffic management and pollution and not just scraping together a living.

Now, Almaty has its own bicycle lane — the first in Central Asia. Opened this month, the bicycle lane runs 2.5km along a pavement at the side of Abai street which cuts across Almaty.

Kazakhstan has high aspirations. It is once again enjoying economic growth and this year it gained international political kudos through its chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which monitors democracy and human rights.

Almaty, no longer the capital but still Kazakhstan’s cultural and financial centre, also holds serious aspirations and in January 2011 hosts the Asian Winter Games.

But Kazakhstan’s recent wealth has also brought traffic and pollution problems to Almaty. In rush hour, the roads are gridlocked and exhaust fumes choke the air.

It appears, though, to be taking traffic management seriously. In 2011 Almaty will finish construction of a seven-station metro system and the bicycle lane in Abai is just the start of a proposed 40km network — similar to wealthy, well-organised European cities.

ENDS

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(News report from Issue No. 15, published on Nov. 15 2010)