BAGUIO CITY – The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved an ordinance declaring every Sunday as Bicycle Day in the city.
Under the proposal, it will be a policy of the local government to declare every Sunday as Bicycle Day in the city to promote the use of bicycles as an alternative mode of transportation among the people because of the limited mass public transportation on the said day.
The council stated that all residents should make it a point to use bicycles as a mode of transportation every Sunday to help in empowering them to practice healthy lifestyle and reduce the emission of pollutants in the air.
The local legislative body tasked the City Mayor’s Office with the assistance of the City Engineering Office (CEO), Department of Public Works and Highways – Baguio City District Engineering Office (DPWH-BCDEO), Baguio City Police Office – Traffic Enforcement Unit (BCPO-TEU), and the Department of Transportation (DOTR) to implement the pertinent provisions of the measure.
According to the council, the aforesaid offices should make sure that the needed bicycle facilities are established in feasible roads in the city.
Moreover, the council stated that the bicycle facilities include bicycle lanes in all roads in the city; physical dividers or reflectorized painted lines, pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvement, traffic signages pertaining to bicycles and bicycle parking facilities.
Proponents Councilors Maria Mylen Victoria G. Yaranon and Levy Lloyd Orcales claimed that the new normal due to the Corona virus (COVID) 2019 global pandemic has made the people in the city to see bicycles as a safe mode of transportation.
The councilors emphasized that the use of bicycles has a beneficial effect not only on people’s health but also on the environment, thus, it will be vital to declare every Sunday as Bicycle Day in the city to encourage the use of the same as al alternative mode of transportation and to promote the use of bicycles not only for personal benefits but also to help improve the city’s air quality.
Last Sunday, hundreds of bicycle enthusiasts actively participate in the celebration of world bicycle Day where most of them roamed around the city using their bicycles.
The proponents asserted that every Sunday is the most feasible for the use of bicycles as a mode of transportation because mass public transportation has been limited on the said day as one of the precautionary measures being enforced to prevent the spread of the deadly virus in the city.
Earlier, the national inter-agency task force for the management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases allowed the citizens to use bicycles as an alternative mode of transportation for those who are going to work and attending to essential needs following the suspension of mass public transportation during the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and part of the new normal situation while efforts are being done to discover a vaccine that will prevent the spread of the contagious virus.
By Dexter A. See
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