Next ‘blue lane’ on Marcos Highway

Spurred by the measure’s initial success on three major thoroughfares, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is designating another lane for bikes and motorcycles, this time on Marcos Highway

Preparations have already begun with the marking of the lane with blue lines,  MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino told the Inquirer Wednesday.

It will be the fourth blue lane to be delineated by the MMDA in an effort to promote road safety, after similar measures were imposed on Edsa, Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City.

The lane is not exclusive to bikers, however, but may still be used by four-wheel vehicles, something which drew complaints during the early implementation of the measure. Bikers face a fine of P500 if they swerve out of the lane, and those who need to make a turn may only leave the lane within 200 meters before the turn.

In an interview, Tolentino said the lane nearest the center island would be designated for bikes and motorcycles on Marcos Highway, which has five lanes each in both directions.

He said it was Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson who suggested the measure, partly to prevent jeepney drivers from taking over the lane and setting up terminals there.

Tolentino said he expects the paint job to be finished by the end of the week.  The blue lane on Marcos Highway, which will stretch up to the border of Antipolo City, will be subdivided into two lanes—one for bicycles and the other for motorcycles.

In October last year, the MMDA designated a motorcycle lane as an experiment on Commonwealth Avenue after an alarming number of road accidents earned it the notorious label, “killer highway.”

The MMDA extended the blue lane project to Edsa in February, where over a thousand motorcyclists were apprehended on Day One alone for violations. The agency later reported a sharp decrease in the number of accidents on the country’s busiest thoroughfare as a result of the project.