A cycle stand has been set up in New Town’s Action Area I where people can park their cycles and head to their workplaces.

The move is an attempt to improve last-mile connectivity and to encourage cycling as a mode of transport, an official of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority said.

The stand where 70 cycles can be parked has come up near Nazrul Tirtha, home to several offices.

The NKDA official said many officegoers had started using cycles to commute to ensure distancing rules were followed. So, the NKDA decided to build the stand “urgently”, the official said.

The stand is close to an upcoming Metro station on the Airport-New Garia route. Once the Metro is operational, people will be able to park their cycles at the stand and take a train, the official said.

Debashis Sen, the NKDA chairman, said they were trying to encourage people to take up cycling and consider it as “a serious means of transport”.

“The lockdown has shown people how cycles can be used easily for commuting. We have cycle tracks in New Town and we want to encourage this non-polluting form of transport,” Sen said.

The stand is equipped with CCTV cameras, mobile phone chargers and two large LCD screens to show the distance to landmarks in New Town, including the Unitech crossing, Eco Park and Sector V, from the stand, an NKDA official said.

People will be able to lock their cycles. Two guards will be posted as well, the NKDA official said.