‘Road sharing’ demo to close parts of Roxas Blvd on Sunday

Tony Oposa

Parts of Roxas Boulevard will be closed Sunday morning for an activity that hopes to demonstrate how “road sharing”—a concept that encourages commuters to reduce their dependence on cars—would look like.

The activity was earlier scheduled to be held on Edsa in June last year but was postponed.

In a press briefing Thursday, Bayanihan sa Daan Movement (BDM) spokesperson Paulo Burro said around 3,000 participants are expected in the event aimed at weaning the public from a “car-centric mentality” to one more open to “walking, biking and the use of an efficient mass transportation system.”

The road closure will be from 6:30 a.m. to noon and will cover only the Manila-bound lanes of Roxas Boulevard, from Edsa Extension to Intramuros. The lanes heading in the opposite direction will remain open to regular traffic.

For the duration of the activity, the lane nearest the median or “center island” will be allocated for the hybrid road train developed by the Department of Science and Technology. The train, composed of five coaches running on electricity and diesel, will offer free rides.

The next two lanes in the middle will be designated for bicycles (one lane going to Intramuros and the other going to Edsa Extension), while the lane nearest the sidewalk will be for pedestrians.

“This is about showing how we can improve public transportation… Those who use bikes and those who want to walk should be given space,” added environmentalist and lawyer Tony Oposa, the BDM head who has been advocating road sharing since 2013.

“(Starting with) five hours, later let’s make it six hours. Then we can make it Saturday and Monday. Changes cannot be done abruptly.  The message is: The time for talk is over,” he said.

The briefing was held at the main office of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which advised motorists who will be affected by Sunday’s activity to take alternative routes.

According to MMDA chair Emerson Carlos, the road-sharing advocates initially proposed that the activity be done on Edsa, but it was met with “resistance” from some groups.

Last year, then MMDA chair Francis Tolentino said the Automotive Association of the Philippines opposed the road sharing “experiment” on Edsa that was scheduled for June 28, also a Sunday. It was eventually postponed, with the MMDA citing a fun run, road repairs, and mall sales happening on the same day, as well as “administrative difficulties within the agency.” Kristine Felisse Mangunay