Keep Iloilo biker-friendly, cyclists ask city officials

BIKE FOR A CAUSE Cyclists join a 24-kilometer ride in Iloilo City on Monday to press the local government to allow bicycles on the city’s main streets. —ERIC BARBOSA JR. / CONTRIBUTOR

ILOILO CITY — About 600 cyclists went around the city on Monday to call for the scrapping of a 1982 ordinance prohibiting bicycles on the main streets of the Iloilo provincial capital.

The bikers, most of them wearing black, traversed a 24-kilometer route from Iloilo Freedom Grandstand, passing through the districts of La Paz, Jaro, Mandurriao, Molo and back to the city center.

‘Archaic’

The two-hour activity, called “Ride to Liberation” in time for the commemoration of the liberation of Panay and Romblon islands from the Japanese, also signaled the start of a signature campaign to repeal Iloilo City Ordinance 1982-354, which prohibited and penalized biking in selected streets in the city.

The cyclists considered the ordinance “archaic,” saying this was inconsistent with the thrust of the city government to promote cycling as an alternative form of transportation and to encourage a healthy lifestyle.

Their statement cited the distinction awarded to Iloilo as the “most bike-friendly city” in the 2018 Phil-Bike Awards.

The city has a 25-km bicycle lane network, including sections of the 10-km Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue (formerly Iloilo Diversion Road) and 14-km President Cory C. Aquino Avenue.

Environmentalists and conservationists have been pushing for delineated streets to encourage walking and cycling and to ensure that roads cater to pedestrians and not only to vehicles.

Bike lanes

In 2016, the council passed an ordinance designating bicycle lanes along Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue. The city also has an ordinance that requires buildings to install bicycle racks.

Iloilo City, in partnership with property developer Megaworld Corp., has been holding bicycle festivals for the past several years at the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park.

The weeklong bike festivals include exhibits, an art bike tour, and a tour of the city’s heritage sites and top attractions and destinations.

More Ilonggos have been going to work or to school on bicycles, according to local cycling enthusiasts.

University loop

They are also asking the city government to complete the university loop, a bike lane circuit connecting six universities in the city center.

The circuit is “intended to ensure the safety and protection of students who use a bike in going to school and for school personnel who bike to work,” according to the statement.

“We are reaffirming our continued dedication to collaborate with the government and with the different sectors in making Iloilo City a biker-inclusive progressive city,” said architect Jai Javier, one of the organizers of the activity.