Bicycle Lanes Wanted!

Town councils should provide bicycle lanesI READ with much interest the recent suggestion put forward by a member of the Kuantan local council to have bicycle lanes to encourage people to cycle in times like these, (The Star, July 1).
I want to take this matter further; I suggest that bicycle lanes be made compulsory by all town councils. At the very least, we can encourage students to cycle to schools.
Cars are clogging the roads every morning and afternoon when schools start or dismiss. The reason why parents are forced to send their children to school in their cars is that cycling is not safe even in smaller towns like Batu Pahat in the absence of bicycle lanes.
I believe that if proper bicycle lanes are constructed, which can ensure the safety of cyclists, more students can be encouraged to cycle to and from schools or to tuition and so forth. This will definitely reduce the number of cars at peak hours as well as conserve fuel and ensure a healthy environment.
However, suggestions like these are often met with lots of negativity, as evidenced by that same suggestion at Majlis Perbandaran Kuantan. There was teasing at the suggestion during the meeting.
Our hot climate should not be used as a deterrent to many useful things we can do, like saving fuel, having a good exercise and saving the environment. If we talk of skin cancer due to exposure to sunlight as suggested by a councillor, is he prepared to discuss lung cancer when the towns are polluted with fumes?
Local councillors, especially those in Kuantan, should be objective in their discussions and not be selectively biased. These are the type of local councillors we least need at board meetings – those always finding some negative comments to make but who are not proactive.