Bike, pedestrian day proposed on Edsa Sunday

A PROPOSED road-sharing scheme along Edsa is set to happen this coming Sunday (June 28) where both the north and southbound lanes from Mall of Asia in Pasay to Ortigas Avenue in Quezon City will have designated lanes for buses, private cars, pedestrians and bikers.

In a meeting with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) last Monday, Share the Road Movement (Bayanihan sa Daan) convenor Antonio Oposa Jr. said that the suggested activity is part of their aim to transform the roads of the country into people and pedestrian-friendly ones.

The agency has yet to approve the activity but MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino said they would carefully study the proposal noting that he supports initiatives that will be beneficial to the commuters and the riding public.

The expected scenario on Sunday will divide the north and southbound lanes of Edsa into 2 to 3 lanes for non-motorized transportation (pedestrian walkways and bike lanes), 1 to 2 lanes for buses and 1 lane for private vehicles.

It is proposed to start from 12 a.m. of June 28 to 11:59 p.m. of the same day.

Oposa added that this exercise would make people realize the public transportation is “safe, reliable, efficient and convenient.”

He added that they have already tapped bus operators and biking groups about the project and have expressed their support to it.

Asked about the safety of pedestrians and bikers during the activity since they will be using the road along with buses and cars, the project convenor said they have already discussed safety guidelines among bus operators.

“We trust that they will follow our directives,” Oposa noted.

Last February, the group had the same activity with more than 2,000 individuals who walked and biked from the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City to Luneta in Manila for the road sharing project, which encouraged people to walk alongside bikers and drivers along the road.

The Bayanihan sa Daan Movement said that it was the first time that the program was launched in a major road in Metro Manila.

“We have been doing these in four barangays (villages) in Pasig, Cebu and Iloilo,” head coordinator May Sangalang earlier told the Inquirer noting that the initiative was launched “to underscore the importance of road courtesy.”

In February last year, the Share the Road Movement asked the Supreme Court to compel the government to implement a road-sharing scheme saying that practically all the roads in the country are given to just less than 2 percent of the population that owns motor vehicles.

It demanded that half of the roads be set aside for nonmotorized transportation, safe and covered sidewalks, edible gardens and all-weather bike lanes, and the other half for an organized transport system.

Oposa said they hope they can do this road-sharing scheme on major roads in the entire country every Sunday then hopefully everyday in the coming years.