After becoming the first local government to recognize biking as a necessary mode of transport, the local government unit (LGU) of Pasig City continues to double its efforts as the “most bike-friendly city in Metro Manila.”
Staying true to their current title, the Pasig City government has devised a plan on how to further encourage their residents to bike—and it involves ensuring its accessibility and safety throughout the city.
Announced by Mayor Vico Sotto on Jun. 3 (just in time for World Bicycle Day), the city’s plan involves an information campaign to promote bike use and road safety and the implementation of various measures that will make Pasig a biking-friendly environment. Included in this is the construction of high priority bicycle corridors, which will serve as bike lanes for roads with high volumes of traffic. This will start from Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Avenue, and through roads like Amang Rodriguez, West Bank Road and A Mabini, ending at Caruncho Avenue.
[READ: Are we ready to have bikes as the “new normal” mode of transportation?]
They will also conduct road safety treatments for roads that are too narrow to have designated bike lanes.
Pasig plans to set up more bike racks to give cyclists better access to parking spaces in public places as well. For this, they plan to start with 60 racks, which costs P10,000 to P20,000 each according to Sotto.
Additionally, he announced that the city government will institutionalize employee transportation loans to help employees purchase bikes, scooters and other alternative modes of transportation by the end of 2020.
Sotto also noted that all of these were initiated by the Pasig Transport Department, whose employees have now all resorted to taking their bikes to work.
In his post, the mayor noted that now is the right time to push for reform in the transportation system in Metro Manila, especially with the difficulties that Filipinos are facing when it comes to accessing public transportation amid the community quarantines. “Lalo tuloy nating nakita ang kakulangan ng imprastraktura para sa mga alternatibong uri ng transportasyon,” said Sotto.
Aside from Pasig, Quezon City has also announced plans to make the city bike-friendly by extending their existing bike lanes from the original 55km to 161km. Safety infrastructures will also be upgraded to address the pressing need for an alternative mode of transportation amid the pandemic.
[READ: More space for bikers: QC gov’t plans to extend city’s bike lane to 161km]
Another LGU introducing programs for bikers is San Juan City, which saw a formal launch of pop-up bicycle lanes on Jun. 3. Meanwhile, Mandaluyong City has also begun their plans of designating bike lanes across the city.
Header photo by Grig C. Montegrande for Inquirer.net
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Writer: YANN MAGCAMIT
