The 1km long bicycle path between Taipei’s Jingmei Bridge and Jingmei River opened yesterday, connecting the 111km of riverside bicycle trails in the city.
With the completion of the 1km bike trail on the right bank of the Jingmei River in front of Shih Hsin University, cyclists can take a ride along the Tamsui, Keelung, Xindian and Jingmei rivers that connect the Muzha (木柵), Neihu (內湖) and Beitou (北投) areas.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) joined hundreds of cyclists yesterday morning at Jinmei Bridge to celebrate the completion of the “last mile” of the city’s riverside bicycle trails, and promised to keep the trails safe and eco-friendly for city residents.
“After we complete the last mile of the trails, city residents can take a ride from Taipei Zoo to Tamsui, or to Bitan Lake in Xindian without having to compete for space with cars and scooters. Riverside parks and recreational areas are also more approachable,” he said.
Taipei City’s Hydraulic Engineering Office began expanding and widening the bike paths in 2008 and improved the surfaces, lighting and signage on the routes.
Taipei City’s Public Works Department Commissioner Shannon Lee (李咸亨) said the 1km long trail is equipped with a water level warning system. Warning lights will light up if the river’s water level reaches 9.2m or higher, and cyclists can leave the trails through exit ramps that are set up every 200m along the trail.
For residents without bicycles, the city government set up bike-rental stands along the trails offering reasonably priced bike-rental services, Lee said.
In related news, the Council for Economic Planning and Development said yesterday that with the cycling craze continuing unabated, Taiwan has already built 1,323km of bike paths and has connected all the paths in the northern region.
The council estimated this total would increase to 3,823km of paths by 2012.
The council said it started to plan for a bicycle path network in 2002 with the aim of building a healthy and superior sports and leisure environment. The council invested NT$1.86 billion (US$63.2 million) on the planning and construction of the bike paths.
Starting in 2009, the Executive Yuan began a four-year plan to build a larger network of bicycle paths, adding NT$4 billion to the project.
Taiwan is known as a bicycle kingdom, exporting 5 million bikes worth US$1.45 billion last year, the council added.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
THE GOOD WORD: More than 100 colleges on both sides of the Pacific will work together to bring students to Taiwan so they can learn Mandarin where it is spoken A total of 102 universities from Taiwan and the US are collaborating in a push to promote Taiwan as the first-choice place to learn Mandarin, with seven Mandarin learning centers stood up in the US to train and support teachers, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET) said. At the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held over the weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Taiwan Pavilion was jointly run by 17 representative teams from the FICHET, the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu, the
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
RSS