Paradise for 2-Wheelers
By Sah Dong-seok
An ambitious plan to boost the use of bicycles across the country is heightening hopes that Korea will become a paradise for bike riders from both home and abroad over the next 10 years. But some bike advocates express skepticism about the plan, raising the possibility of budget waste and erroneous policy priority.
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security last week announced the creation of a nationwide bike path at a cost of 1.24 trillion won ($950 million) by 2018 as part of the ``Green New Deal'' earlier announced by President Lee Myung-bak in his New Year address. The 3,114-kilometer bike trail, to be built along the nation's coastlines, will start from Haengju Bridge in Seoul, pass through Ganghwa in Incheon and go on to Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, along the west coast. It will continue to head along the south and east coastlines, going from Haeundae Beach in Busan to Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province and Tongil Tower in Goseong, Gangwon Province. The path will then run along the Demilitarized Zone bisecting the Korean Peninsula before returning to Haengju Bridge, its starting point.
The three-meter-wide path will be exclusively for 2-wheelers with both pedestrians and motor vehicles banned. For the 10-year project, 124.5 billion won will be invested every year. Another 1,297-kilometer bicycle path will be built by 2012 in connection with the government's plan to revitalize the nation's four major rivers including Han River.
The government looks determined to groom the cycle project as a national brand that promotes ``green growth,'' focusing on its tourism and job creation effects. Specifically, the newly built coastal and DMZ bike lanes will be linked with existing bike paths to help each region attract tourists. The DMZ trail, in particular, is expected to draw an international spotlight, revealing its hidden and unknown views to both domestic and foreign travelers. The bike project will also create 2,067 new jobs every year through 2012, which will reach 8,268 jobs in total.
While many riders support the project, there are voices against the plan even among eager bike riders, though. Critics especially point to the enormous budget, nearly $1 billion, needed to complete the U-shaped path. A posting on one of the most popular bicycle Internet cafes lashed out at the government plan, saying it would end up with a waste of taxpayers' money given the basic spirit of bicycles ― no energy, eco-friendliness and use of existing resources. A look at the government's budget plan shows a construction outlay of 400 million won for a one-kilometer bike path, which would mean using special pavement materials.
Opponents propose creating a nationwide bike path linking idle roads in provinces used not frequently due to the concentration of the population around the metropolitan areas. Instead, they urge the government to focus more on expanding bike lanes in downtown areas so that bicycles could become a de facto commuter means in our daily lives.
South Korea's central government spent only 10.2 billion won refurbishing facilities related to bikes in 2007 as the Netherlands, one of the world's leading bicycle countries, poured 10 percent of its budget for roads into facilities for bikes. In fact, most bike lanes in the country's urban districts are built on sidewalks, making it very difficult to bike to work. The percentage of bicycles in South Korea's transportation remains at 1.2 percent, compared with 27 percent in the Netherlands, 14 percent in Japan and 10 percent in Germany.
Some critics question the effectiveness of the nationwide bike path, saying only the long-distance bike tourists will use the lanes for leisure purposes while the majority will shun the path.
Regrettably enough, the controversy over the bike plan has turned into a political offensive against President Lee Myung-bak as more bikers suspected it of being a stepping stone to re-ignite Lee's now dormant grand canal project although no evidence has been found yet.
Good Ideas
Nonetheless, the country is seeing the full bloom of good ideas designed to boost the use of bicycles, especially in urban areas. More recently, the government has come up with a plan to build an express tunnel for bikes along the median strip of a big city boulevard, for example Seoul, which will enable bike riders to commute regardless of rain or snow. A plan also gets under way to hold the ``Tour de Korea'' world bicycle competition using the to-be-built nationwide bike lanes. Any way, both are good for bike riders.