Cebu City taps DOTC’s help

Cebu City Hall has sought the help of the Department of Transportation and Comunication (DOTC) to study the feasibility of bike lanes in the city.

In response, a DOTC official asked for a project brief so the proposal has a chance of being included for funding under the Special Vehicle Pollution Control Fund (SVPCF).

Non-motorized transport, which would include bicycles, was not part of the Metro Cebu transport study which DOTC recently completed, said Jaime Raphael Feliciano, DOTC assistant secretary for planning and project development in his May 6 letter.

“However, the proposed study can be considered for funding under the SVPCF which is intended to abate and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from mobile sources.”

A growing community of bicycle users in the city is lobbying for bike lanes on main roads for affordable transportation, exercise, tourism and to make Cebu City more “liveable”.

The City Council earlier wrote the DOTC seeking assistance for the conduct of a feasibility study about putting up bike lanes from Plaza Independencia to the mountain barangay of Busay.

Councilor Nida Cabrera’s request said the city government needed technical and financial assistance for a feasibility study because the city lacks the money and expertise to do one on its own.

The DOTC asked the city to submit a technical proposal and/or project brief .

Rafael Yap, head of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Ciotm), said he would ask Lyn Madrona, Citom’s traffic engineering consultant, to prepare the project brief, which may be ready in a week.

A project brief would state the objective and general features of the plan.

A feasibility study would have more detail like origin and destination of routes, the basis for shifting from motorized transport to a non-motorized transport among other aspects. /Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac