Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Judge orders closure of Rio cycleway built for Olympic visitors

Two killed when 50m section of Ciclovia Tim Maia collapsed into Atlantic last month

A judge in Rio de Janeiro has ordered the closure of a 4km coastal cycle route built ahead of this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. The decision comes after two cyclists were killed last month when a section collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean. The city says it plans to appeal the ruling.

The bike riders were killed when a huge wave caused the collapse of a 50-metre section of the clifftop Ciclovia Tim Maia, which opened in January and runs between Leblon and Sao Conrado.

> Two die as Rio cycleway collapses into Atlantic (+ video)

http://road.cc/content/news/187100-two-die-rio-de-janeiro-cycleway-colla...

Amid concerns over the integrity of the piers supporting the cycle route and fears that a similar tragedy could occur elsewhere on it, city councillor Teresa Bergher filed a lawsuit demanding that the entire 4km cycleway be closed, reports O Globo.

Judge Marcelo Martins Evaristo da Silva said that he had imposed the ban “to avoid the risk of accidents to pedestrians and cyclists,” although they will now have to use a shared-use path on the busy Avenida Niemeyer which runs alongside the closed route.

Confirming on Saturday that the city would appeal, Rio mayor Eduardo Paes said that while it would “respect the court’s decision, the ban harms the residents of Vidigal,” a suburb on the route.

He added that the demolishing the bike path was out of the question from the city’s point of view. “Technically, there is no such need,” he insisted.

An inquiry is ongoing into the causes of last month’s tragedy, with manslaughter charges one potential outcome.

A preliminary expert report commissioned by the Institute of Criminology Carlos Eboli (ICCE) says the collapse was due to the lack of pre-construction study into the impact of waves on the pillars, and inadequate fixing of the track onto the pillars.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

2 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 7 years ago
0 likes

I'm sorry, but why on earth did a judge have to enforce a ban to close this thing?

Avatar
japes | 7 years ago
1 like

does he mean there is "technically no need" to demolish it because it's falling down all by itself 

Latest Comments