The Taipei Times reports that Xinyi district in central Taipei will be car-free for the first time ever! I’m quite surprised that they chose a Monday to do this. The Taipei City government will also be having a group biking activity which will cover a distance of 16km on Sunday, Sept. 21.

Taipei city has hundreds of kilometers of dedicated (i.e. no cars) bicycle paths. I believe that Taipei and Taipei county are the best places in Asia for urban cycling.

Recently bikes have been allowed on selected MRT stations and special carriages are now provided for bikes on, as I understand it, selected days. All in all, great efforts are being made to make Taipei more bike friendly. Just one more reason to study Chinese in Taipei! Although, to be fair, I think riding on the roads is still very risky.

Below is a map of Taipei’s bike paths. You can pick up the map at MRT stations and some cycling stores:

http://blog.taiwan-guide.org

From David on Formosa: http://blog.taiwan-guide.org

David on Formosa wrote about Taipei’s bike paths in 2005.

Taipei Times
It will be the first time the Taipei City Government has banned automobiles in the district on a working day.The district between Songgao Road, Xinyi Road, Shifu Road and Songren Road will become a car-free zone during the day. People who take the bus or MRT to the district will enjoy a free ride if they use their EasyCard, Hung Tsang-lang (洪滄浪), a division chief of Taipei City’s Transportation Department, said yesterday at a press conference at MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station.

The department further invited the public to join a group biking activity to be held by the city government on Sunday, Sept. 21.

The event, which will start at 6:30am in front of Taipei City Hall, will travel on a 16km route to the Gongguan Riverside Plaza.

The department invited the public to sign up for the event on-site and the first 1,000 participants will receive a free T-shirt.