City officials requested the City Engineering Office – Traffic and Transportation Management Division (CEO-TTMD) to conduct an experimental method on the use and utilization of the bike routes and bike lanes in the city for two Saturdays in coordination with the Land Traffic and Transport Management Committee (LTTMC).
Under Resolution NO. 111, series of 2022, local legislators stated that to ensure the effective implementation before the final approval of a pending ordinance on the use of the bike routes and bike lanes, there is a need for the conduct of an experimental method to prioritize the safety and welfare of people using active transport, ensuring the cyclists, other light mobility users and pedestrians are not placed at risk from motorized transport which are mostly present along roads around the city.
The council required the CEO-TTMD top submit a report to the local legislative body on the results of the aforesaid experimental method that will be conducted to serve as a guide for policy makers in ironing out the issues and concerns on the use of the bike routes and bike lanes that were put in place in certain roads with the central business district area.
Pursuant to the National transport Policy of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) which encourages local government units to accord highest priority to the development of proper sidewalks and networks of bicycle lanes to promote a more sustainable and inclusive transport system that encourage active transport, and provide safe and direct access to priority services, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued Memorandum Circular No. 2020-100 providing for the guidelines for the establishment of a network of cycling lanes and walking paths to support peoples mobility.
Earlier, a proposed ordinance was filed in the local legislative body which provided for the mandatory bicycle lanes and walking paths in the city where it reiterated the importance of bicycle lanes as one of the best practices of great economies to mitigate the serious negative effects of global warming emanating from public and private transport; to foster environmental sustainability for future generations and to protect pedestrians, brisk walkers and bicyclists by providing safety measures in the installation of lanes dedicated for the same purpose.
The local government embarked on a multi-million bicycle lane project that seeks to establish bicycle lanes along major roads in the city for the use of cyclists to help in encouraging residents to use bicycles as their alternative transport mode in going to and from their desired destinations around the city.
