İrde Gürtepe, Head of Air Management Department of the General Directorate of Environmental Management of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, stated that the project implementations of the 1700-kilometer 'Anatolian Corridor' bicycle path, which will be connected to the European Bicycle Network (EuroVelo) and stretch from Edirne to Kayseri, have been completed, He said that the work on the 1465-kilometer 'Coastal Corridor' road, which covers the coastline up to Antalya, continues.
In addition to bicycle paths integrated into urban transportation, by the Ministry; The 'Bicycle Routes Master Plan for Urban Transportation and Tourism' has been prepared for the 3-kilometer route, which will include regions of Turkey that stand out with their history, nature and culture, integrated with the European Cycling Network (EuroVelo). Within the scope of the plan, two routes were determined as 'Anatolian Corridor' and 'Coastal Corridor'. While the project of the 165-kilometer Anatolian Corridor, which will start from Edirne and extend to Kayseri through Ankara and Cappadocia, is being prepared, work is planned to start in a short time on the 1700-kilometer section covering the Kulu-Aksaray, Konya-Aksaray, Kulu-Konya route.
İrde Gürtepe, Head of the Air Management Department of the General Directorate of Environmental Management of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, said that they handled the construction process of bicycle paths in two stages as inter-city and urban bicycle paths. Gürtepe said, “We have put forward a master plan for intercity bike paths. This plan consists of two corridors of 3 kilometers. One of the corridors is the corridor, which we define as the 'Anatolian Corridor', stretching from Edirne, via Ankara, to Cappadocia and Kayseri. The other is the corridor that continues from the Aegean coast from the coastline from Istanbul to Antalya. Implementation projects of 165 kilometers of the Anatolian corridor are currently being prepared. It is planned that the completed implementation projects of this 700 kilometer line will be implemented quickly upon the instruction of our Minister. We aim to quickly implement the 1700-kilometer-long bicycle path that passes from Kulu to Şereflikoçhisar and Ihlara.”
'These roads are meticulously planned'
Gürtepe said that the work on the 1465-kilometer 'Coastal Corridor', which covers the coastline from Istanbul to Antalya, is continuing. Gürtepe, noting that the work is continuing at the United Nations regarding the connection of intercity bicycle paths to the European Cycling Road network, said, “This line is a line used by cyclists very often in Europe. We aim for those cyclists to reach our country through our line and visit the historical natural beauties of our country. Most of the intercity bicycle paths will reach bicycle paths separately from the road. It will reach the natural beauties of our country with the fringing line. These roads are meticulously planned. We are trying to prepare resting places for cyclists, areas where they can camp, and environments where they can travel safely.”
'We support municipalities'
Gürtepe stated that they, as the ministry, provide grant support to the projects prepared by the municipalities on the bicycle paths in the settlement, and said, “Our aim is for our citizens to use bicycles in transportation and to be in an environment where they can ride their bicycles with their families. For this reason, we include especially urban bicycle paths in our public gardens. Urban bicycle lanes built with the support of our Ministry have reached a distance of approximately 35 kilometers in 207 provinces. We have another 530 kilometer bicycle path line in various provinces of our country, which is still under construction," he said.
Gürtepe also stated that they continue to work on the spread of bicycle lanes in 81 provinces and said, “We have become a party to the Paris Climate Agreement. We have a net zero emission target by 2053, which was announced by the President. In line with this goal, we attach great importance to the increase of our citizens' mobility and their preference for bicycle transportation in terms of reducing transportation emissions. Our completed bike paths are ready for summer, waiting to meet with our citizens.
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