Rio unveils new beachfront bike path

As the city that boasts the largest urban cycling network in Latin America, Rio has just added 3.9 kilometers worth of bikeways with the unveiling last weekend of the Tim Maia bike track. The new path, which is already being used for travel by locals and visitors, is on the beachfront Niemeyer avenue and links the Leblon and São Conrado neighborhoods with a full view of the sea.

The new stretch was named after the singer-songwriter who praised Rio's beaches in his song, “Do Leme ao Pontal”, whose title is a reference to the boundaries of Rio's coastline. Tim Maia died in 1998.

The Tim Maia bike path began being built in June 2014, and the construction works lasted a year and a half. The completed track was officially delivered to the public on Sunday (Jan. 17) by Mayor Eduardo Paes, who ran along it on an electric tricycle, since he is still recovering from a foot injury. The local Environment Secretariat that runs the Rio Capital of Biking project aims is to complete 450 km of bikeways by the end of 2016, adding 300 km to its existing bicycle network as of 2009.

According to the local government, once the stretch linking São Conrado to Barra da Tijuca has been completed by the end of this semester, people will be able to cycle from the city center all the way to West Rio. There are currently 2,500 bike racks in Rio at bus rapid transit (BRT), subway, train, and ferry stations, as well as bus and coach stations and city streets, allowing bikers to combine their travel with other public, mass transit modes.

Every day, over 2 million bike trips are completed in the city, which includes retail, delivery, and service use. As a clean vehicle choice, bikes currently account for 5% of Rio's overall travel.

Translated by Mayra Borges