MMDA to open bicycle lanes on 2 more major roads

Children ride rented bicycles at a public park fronting Manila Bay in this file photo. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is set to open Nov. 15, 2012, bicycle lanes on major roads in its bid to promote the two-wheeled vehicle as a popular mode of transportation. AFP PHOTO/JOEL NITO

MANILA, Philippines—The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is about to open lanes on major roads intended solely for bicycle riders in its bid to promote the two-wheeled vehicle as a popular mode of transportation.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said the agency had set bike lanes around Remedios Circle up to Roxas Boulevard and on the 550-meter stretch from President Quirino Avenue to the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Bike lanes have also been in place on Marcos Highway and Commonwealth Avenue.

The MMDA bike lanes will be inaugurated in a ceremony and be open to the bikers starting November 15, he said.

Tolentino said the traffic enforcers assigned in the areas would ensure that no motorized vehicles would be encroaching on the lanes exclusive for bikers. “May magbabantay doon. (Someone will be watching)”

The MMDA has been supportive of the campaign to turn biking into a sustainable and popular mode of transportation among the commuters since by opening up the roads for bikers, they promote healthy living and help lessen air pollution in the metropolis.

The bike lanes help reduce the number of road accidents involving bicycles, he added.

Since roads are safer for bikers, many would be encouraged to mount their bikes when going to work and school, Tolentino said.

Earlier, Tolentino said the agency is toying with the idea of providing incentives to regular bike commuters. One of those was the one-day exemption per week from the number coding scheme which is being enforced by the agency to reduce the volume of vehicles on the roads.

“For example, those who went to work on their bikes would be given one-day exemption from the number coding. But they have to be seen by our traffic constables,” Tolentino said.