Hyderabad's Healthway: Who is it for?
When I got a road bike earlier this year, I was looking for places to explore. I came across Hyderabad’s solar roof cycling track named “Healthway” and went there a couple of months ago. At the end of the ride, I left wondering who is it for actually.
Announced in 2023, built with a whopping 100Cr rupees, it is the world’s second solar roof top cycling track. The track is 23 km long and stretches all the way from Narsingi in Financial District to Kollur.
Despite being built with such a huge budget, just 3 years since inauguration, the track has big cracks in multiple locations with mud seeping in from sides and not in its best condition. (Apologies for not taking pictures, I’ll update the post if I visit again). It’s utility remains pretty minimal in my opinion due to the location. Imagine you’re a:
- Commuter: It’s built in the south west corner of Hyderabad, so not very useful for you.
- Enthusiast: The cycling track has barriers every few kilometers to allow traffic to pass through. It is annoying to stop every now and then, pick up your bike above the barricades and cross to the other side of the road. There are much better alternatives like riding on ORR, state highway leading to Siddipet or some parts of East Hyderabad. You’d easily find some routes on Komoot or Strava.
- Hobbyist: It’s far away from where most people live. Only people from Kokapet or Osman Nagar can actually reach there without having to wade through the traffic in the city. So, unless you have a car with a bike mount, you can’t reach the location. I suggest you visit Palapitta cycling park instead.
- Teens or kids: It’s safe and great to occasionally visit but practically, who would travel (in a car with mounts) for 1h or more to reach the location to ride for 30m-1h?
So, unlike the Korean project which it was inspired from, which actually connects two cities on a highway, doesn’t have barriers every few kilometers, the Hyderabad project lacks utility and is built for a very niche group of beginner cyclists.
As for solar energy generated from the track, I’d love to know if placing these solar panels atop the metro lines, metro stations and other public transport was ever considered or is even possible to do.