Iloilo bicycle festival backs ‘Share the Road’ movement

BIKE LANES Bicycle lovers join the 1st Iloilo Bike Festival in Iloilo City to support the putting up of bike and walking lanes in the country. NESTOR P. BURGOS JR./INQUIRER VISAYAS

ILOILO CITY—Eddie Capio reached this city from his hometown in Leon, Iloilo province, on Sunday, pedaling a distance of 28 kilometers to travel 24 km farther in a mass cycling and running event on the city streets.

“This is just for fun and we hope we send out the message,” said Capio, 53, a cyclist for 10 years.

He was with some 2,000 enthusiasts who joined the 1st Iloilo Bike Festival to promote the “Share the Road” movement. Around 100 others joined a fun run.

The road-sharing movement, pioneered in the country by environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr., advocates the delineation of roads into those for vehicles and for pedestrians, runners and cyclists.

“I laud the Ilonggo because what  you have shown here will not only be emulated in the rest of the country but will be a spark fire for a change of our mindset,” Oposa, a 2009 Ramon Magsaysay awardee, said in a message during the opening program.

“This is the first time I’ve seen so many [cyclists]  in an event. It’s important to promote a healthy lifestyle and to be physically active,” Capio said. “I hope events like these can help widen the consciousness of people that biking is not just for leisure but important for good health. We are proud that Iloilo is taking the lead.”

Capio, who came with 50 other cyclists from Leon and other towns, said he supported having more bike lanes and walks.

The festival participants passed by 14 tourist and heritage sites, including the 54-hectare Iloilo Business Park project of Megaworld Corp. in Mandurriao District where the fun ride kicked off and ended.

The route included  Lizares Mansion, Casa Mariquit, Jaro plaza, cathedral and belfry, Sanson-Montinola house, Nelly Garden, Museo Iloilo, the old provincial capitol and Arroyo Fountain, Calle Real, Fort San Pedro, Plaza Libertad, City Hall, San Jose Church and Sto. Rosario heritage houses, Customs House, Molo Church and  Iloilo River Esplanade.

Streets along the route were closed to vehicular traffic.

The fun ride lasted four hours and ended with a food festival and street party at  Iloilo Business Park.

Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who joined the cyclists, led the ceremonial countdown.  Iloilo Rep. Jerry Treñas and other city officials, including councilors, attended.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, the main guest, said the activity was timely amid the growing concern about the environment. “All of us are concerned in making our respective communities a better place to live in,” he said in a speech.

Drilon said the bike festival complemented ongoing government and private sector projects that help make Iloilo a clean, safe and environment-friendly city. He cited the 14-km circumferential road connecting Arevalo District in Iloilo City and the coastal road in Dumangas town in Iloilo.

The road network, which Drilon hopes to be named President Cory Aquino Avenue, will include a 2-meter painted bike lane.

The road-widening project along the 10-km Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue features a six-lane highway, a pedestrian lane and a 5-m paved bike lane that will extend from Barangay (village) Sambag in Jaro District in Iloilo City to  Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan town.

“We will probably be the first city with at least a 24-km bike lane,” Drilon, a native of Iloilo and the main proponent of the projects, said.

Megaworld, which hosted the event, said its P35-billion Iloilo Business Park would feature bike lanes and walk areas, including its 1.1-km Festive Walk.

Jesyl Pasaporte, 24, a teacher from Jaro District in Iloilo City, came to the bike festival with her brother, nephews and nieces. “This is a good way to promote a healthy lifestyle especially because many people tend to have a sedentary lifestyle due to computers,” she told the Inquirer.

Biking and walking also reduce air pollution, Pasaporte said.