‘Put bicycle lanes in city sidewalks’

Instead of putting bicycle lanes in main roads, the chief of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) is suggesting an easier option—make bicycle lanes part of the sidewalks.

“We only need to widen the sidewalks to incorporate bike lanes,” said Rafael Yap, Citom executive director.

He said it would be costly to acquire road-right-of-way and involve safety risks to put bike lanes alongside other road users like cars, he explained.

Yap said he would soon meet with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), urban planners and architects to discuss a plan to put up bike lanes in city streets.

He said the city government had an ongoing study to determine the viability of putting up bicycle lanes.

The study, he said, is in addition to the 2007 bicycle count done along N. Bacalso Avenue, Osmeña Boulevard, Gorordo Avenue and Gov. Cuenco Avenue.

“The bicycle count showed that a substantial number of bicycle riders would benefit if we have bike lanes,” he said.

He said there was no time frame for this ambitious project to incorporate bicycle lanes.

Until then, Yap said that the city would have to maximize other options to encourage less use of motorized vehicles on the streets.

He said that if the Road Revolution movement of the Law of Nature Foundation is done well, it would help reduce street congestion and air pollution.

He encouraged Road Revolution organizers to draw public support to sustain their efforts and achieve the target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the air.

“Road Revolution should be more than just road closure but encouraging people to change the mode of transportation in Cebu City,” said Yap.

“We cannot also do this every day because this would kill our enforcers,” he said.

Yap said his office supports the Road Revolution, which kicked off on June 12 with the whole-day closure of Osmeña Boulevard that was used by pedestrians, bikers and skateboard enthusiasts.

“We encourage bicycles, anything that would encourage less motor vehicles on the the road is welcome,” he said.

The city council has scheduled an executive session with environmental groups pushing to have certain roads in Cebu City closed one day a week for pedestrians and nonfossil fuel transport.

The council has asked Citom to comment on the proposal.