Moscow authorities are planning to open three new cycling lanes in September intended both for leisure and for commuters seeking to avoid cramped journeys on public transportation, a city official said.
One of the new bike lanes will stretch 5.4 kilometers in the city's southeast, linking the Marino metro station with the Kapotnya district, which abuts the Moscow Ring Road. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin inspected work on the project Wednesday, according to RIA-Novosti.
A further 7-kilometer route is planned between metro stations Belyayevo and Chertanovskaya to the south of the city.
Deputy Mayor Pyotr Biryukov told the news agency that authorities were also developing plans for a much longer bike route to snake more than 21 kilometers through the capital's central and western administrative districts.
According to Biryukov, the route would start on Bolshaya Filyovskaya Ulitsa, close to metro Filyovsky Park, before leading to Krymskaya Naberezhnaya, Kutuzovsky Prospekt and on to the Vorobyovskaya and Pushkinskaya embankments.
City Hall is planning to open bike rental stations along some of the routes, Biryukov added.
The new initiative is not the first time city authorities have tried to make Moscow more bike-friendly. In 2011, authorities ran a pilot project to set up a 7.5-kilometer route near Moscow State University, RIA-Novosti reported.
But despite their efforts, Moscow lacks the biking infrastructure present in many other European capitals.