![Workers building what's being described as Beijing's first bicycle highway, connecting the Huilongguan residential community in Beijing's northern Changping District with Shangdi, an industrial zone in neighboring Haidian District, April 21, 2019. [Photo: IC]](http://img0.zhytuku.meldingcloud.com/images/zhycms_chinaplus/20190422/e75ab21a-528a-45d6-a4f9-51c6da285784.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_650)
A dedicated roadway, being dubbed Beijing’s first highway for bicycles, is set to be finished in the coming month.
The bicycle highway will connect Huilongguan, one of the capital’s most populous residential zones in Changping District, with Shangdi, a rapidly developing high-tech industrial zone in neighbouring Haidian District.
Beijing authorities say 60% of the bike highway’s main structure has already been built.
Around 16% of residents in Huilongguan work in Shangdi. Even though the distance between the two locations is only six kilometers, 40% of commuters still choose to drive a vehicle to work, according to the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design, which devised the bicycle highway concept in 2016.
A lack of public transport in the region means it can take drivers up to an hour-and-a-half to make the 6 kilometer commute during the rush hours. Beijing authorities say taking a bicycle would will cut the commute down to an average of just 26 minutes.
The new bicycle highway will ensure a more pleasant biking experience, while also reducing the time cyclists spend waiting at traffic lights, according to the plan.
A second stage of the bicycle highway will later connect to Zhongguancun, considered China’s Silicon Valley, where nearly 20% of residents in Huilongguan work.
