Senator urges Manila mayors to adopt Iloilo City’s bike lane strategy

Senator Grace Poe is urging mayors of Metro Manila to see Iloilo City as a successful model in molding their cities to become bike friendly cities.

“Becoming a bike friendly city is only natural for different cities today as more people choose to transition into cycling as a mode of transportation,” said Poe.

The Senator from Iloilo pointed out that, even before the pandemic, Iloilo City had around 25 kilometers of bicycle lanes, which are being planned to be expanded even further. Iloilo has been hailed as the “Most Bike-Friendly City” as well as the “Bicycle Capital of the Philippines”.

“Kakaiba talaga ang development ng Iloilo and I feel so proud to be from Iloilo whenever I see all the development there. Kaya isa nga ‘yan sa mga naging inspirasyon ko. That’s why I pushed for funding for protected bike lanes dahil nga nakita kong malaking bagay ito. Para mayroon tayong mga safe roads para sa ating mga cyclistsa at joggers para naman yung ating alternative mode of transportation and mobility ay masuportahan,” Poe said.

Just this past 2020, Metro Manila has seen a boom in cyclists accessing the roads of the different cities. This has of course been caused by the pragmatic choice of people to switch to a more sustainable and healthier way of transportation due to the drop of available public transport options.

But the switch does not come entirely as smooth as one would expect it. As per the MMDA’s tracking data, accidents relating to cycling have shot up to 2,606 in 2020, from 1,759 in 2019.

Cycling advocates and groups have been pointing out the lack of protected bicycle lanes within the Metro as a major cause of rising cycling related accidents.

In contrast, Iloilo City’s bike lanes are vastly different from that of Metro’s as theirs feature raised lanes that are protected by plants and bollards. Poe aspires this to be the same case in the Metro, especially now that budget is close to being secured for the possible redevelopments.

“Ipinaglalaban namin ang budget para sa ating probinsya kasi nakita naman natin ang laking tulong na hindi ka na kailangan palaging nasa sasakyan. It reduces pollution, it keeps our cyclists safe dahil hindi sila basta-basta mabubundol,” Poe added.

Through the Senator’s initiative, PHP17.5-million has been allocated for the construction of protected bike lanes in all highly-urbanized cities in Metro Manila.

These funds were placed under the Assistance to Cities program of DBM, thus seeking to complement the PHP1.36-billion Poe successfully pushed to include under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act for the construction of bicycle lanes along major circumferential and arterial roads.