Is Iloilo City really a bike capital?

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

For some weeks now, I’ve been seeing and hearing complaints from people close to me (as well as those who aren’t close to me) complaining about how bikes have been traversing roads outside Iloilo City’s “award-winning” bike lanes. Well, on Monday, I was honked at by a jeep in front of the University of San Agustin while riding my bike…on the bike lane.

Those series of personal circumstances and events, as well as observations I’ve had since I started regularly biking to work and school since last year, have led me to write this column to reiterate what I have said in my last one: PLEASE RESPECT THE BIKE LANES.

It seems that while Iloilo City and its local government have been reeling in their laurels for the so-called ‘cycling culture’ they’ve built, little attention is paid to the welfare of bikers who use the City Proper bike lanes for daily transport.

And despite the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office’s casual posts collaring vehicles violating the bike lane ordinance, they remain to disrespect the bike lanes.

This is more common for the bike lanes in Mabini, Delgado, and General Luna streets, where vehicles park temporarily, disregarding the fact that sometimes there might be a bicycle behind them.

The shark-tooth crossing at the intersection of Diversion Road, and General Luna and Infante streets near the UP Iloilo City campus is difficult to cross for bikes, as vehicles going to the former road would tend to ‘surprise’ bikers and not even care even if it was visible to them.

The portion in adjacent to the University of San Agustin is also a spot that comes to mind, because the Iloilo City Police Office tends to park their vehicles there, and jeepneys stopping to pick people up at the shed don’t even mind the bicycles riding behind them and just stay there.

Whenever I get the opportunity to talk to drivers parking in these bike lanes, the usual responses would be “Saglit ma lang ni,” (This is just for a while), “May ginahulat lang,” (I’m just waiting for someone), or “Sin-o ka gid man bi?” (Who do you think you are?) and honestly as a bike commuter, it’s very tiring.

Let’s not even get to the discussion where drivers complain that bikers don’t stay on their lanes, because when we do stay on our lanes, we get disrespected, as exemplified by the scenarios I just mentioned, or even get honked at by cars like I said in this lead.

Simply put, people who drive vehicles, including the so-called “bike advocates” who actually haven’t done enough for the safety of bike commuters, don’t actually care about bicycles and only give a damn when it affects how they drive.

With these experiences in mind, and some may even agree with me, I still doubt whether this city deserves to call itself as a “bike capital”.

Sure, we aren’t Amsterdam or Copenhagen, but we surely aren’t Metro Manila, where despite having bike lanes, the culture is virtually impossible to due to the prevalence of private cars and motorcycles on the roads.

While this city is friendly to bikes, the notion that we are a ‘capital’ for cycling still remains to be seen as biking for regular people, who don’t use cycling for recreation or sport, remains unsafe.

Aside from events like the Bike Festival, criterium races, fun rides, and other fleeting activities, what has been done to elevate cycling safely in the city?

The Diversion and Esplanade bike lanes have made it more possible for us to bike towards City Proper, but this still isn’t enough, as crossing between other thoroughfares at Jalandoni and El 98 streets remain to be somewhat unsafe and unfriendly to bicycles.

Even the ‘bike lanes’ on the other side, which are just ramps infused with the sidewalks, still aren’t passable because of parking by vehicles, especially those in front of restaurants and other commercial structures.

I remember asking Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas a week after they won the Galing Pook Awards for their bike-related initiatives. As a bike commuter, I was honestly disappointed when he said that he cannot install protections to the bike lanes and that implementing the bike ordinance was enough.

The bike ordinance is actually not enough, because whoever parks on or passes by a bike lane can easily pay the P2,000 fine. Towed vehicles can also easily be retrieved.

The implementation of the said ordinance also isn’t strict enough, because even after photos of citations and towings are being published, there are still vehicles that park and complaints and in-person call-outs fall on deaf ears now.

I’m not a fan of imprisonment as a punishment, especially for a mere ordinance like this, so what I would suggest, if the city government still isn’t interested in putting up bollards or concrete stands, would be to raise the fines to a value more equitable in favor of the bikers, and add and train more personnel who cite violators. It’s actually that simple.

Likewise, it would also be plausible to extend the bike lanes to La Paz, Jaro, and Villa Arevalo, so that bikers could travel easier all across the city.

If we want to promote bike culture in Iloilo City and defend being a ‘bike capital’, it shouldn’t be just about building and painting simple lanes where bikes can pass, we also have to make sure that these bike lanes are protected so that we can bike safely and without hassle.