Biking enthusiasts can freely use portions of four national roads in the city following the identification of portions of such roads for biking.
Assistant City Engineer Constancio Ymson, Jr., who appeared during last Monday’s regular session of the City Council, disclosed among the national roads where the proposed bike lanes will be established include the Naguilian Road, Palispis Highway, Loakan Road and South Drive Road.
He disclosed that personnel from the City Engineering Office (CEO), the Department of Public Works and Highways–Baguio City District Engineering Office (DPWH-BCDEO) and concerned cyclists conducted a joint inspection along the aforesaid national roads to identify the areas feasible for the put up of the proposed bike lanes.
The proposed areas along the stretch of the national roads where the bike lanes are to be put up include the checkpoint in front of Coca-Cola along Naguilian Road up to the City Hall area; from the junction of Green Valley along Palispis-Aspiras Highway up to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) rotonda; from Scout Barrio along Loakan Road up to the Upper Session Road rotonda and from Pacdal Circle along South Drive Road up to the Upper Session Road rotonda.
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Ymson informed city legislators that some P18.2 million is needed by the city government to immediately put up the proposed bike lanes in the above 4 national roads initially identified as feasible for the put up of the bike lanes.
He said the CEO and the DPWH-BCDEO will continue consulting with the biking enthusiasts on other feasible sites along national and city roads where bike lanes can be put up pursuant to the mandate of the national inter-agency task force for the management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases allowing biking as an alternative mode of transport for people attending to their essential needs and for authorized persons outside residence (APORs).
On the other hand, the City Council approved on second reading and for publication a proposed ordinance declaring every Sunday as Bicycle Day in Baguio City.
Earlier, the council approved a resolution requesting the CEO, DPWH-BCDEO and other concerned government agencies, to conduct a joint inspection of national and city roads to identify feasible areas where bike lanes could be put up as part of the new normal in the city after the implementation of the community quarantine.
City legislators urged the technical personnel of the CEO and DPWH-BCDEO to prepare the programs of work and the cost estimates of the project to ensure the sourcing out of funds for the implementation of the project the soonest because biking is now part of the new normal as the country continues to battle the wrath of the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Since the celebration of World Bicycle Day in the city last June 7, 2020, hundreds of biking enthusiasts had been using their bicycles for recreation and as transportation from their homes to destinations inside and outside the city.
By Dexter A. See
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