DAVAO CITY, Philippines — A Bikers’ group has called on the local government to provide bike lanes in thoroughfares and highways for bicycle enthusiast and hobbyist but the officer in charge on the management of the streets in this city expressed doubt that such demand would be met.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Joan Mae Bantayan of Tuburan Institute and a bicycle enthusiast said that bike lane should be apportioned in streets and highways considering the number of Davaoeños now using bikes as their modes of transportation.
Bantayan said it would be “beneficial for bikers to have a bike lane” for their security and safety on the road, especially during rush hours.
But City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) head Dionisio Abude said it would be impossible to answer the concern raised by bikers as most of the city’s main roads only have two to four lanes that cater thousands of public utility vehicles and private cars daily.
Abude particularly cited streets like the C.M. Recto and San Pedro which he said cannot allocate special bike lanes as these are now accommodating thousands of vehicles a day.
He stressed that the appeal for bike lanes “would only be possible if our roads can still accommodate special lanes for the bikers but as now, our roads, especially in the central area of the city, cannot do it.”
The CTTMO head added that special lanes for bikers can be possible after the completion of the ongoing construction of the coastal road and the road widening program of the government.
Roads with bike lanes should also be identified before the implementation, Abude said.
He also suggested that bike lanes can be provided if the High Priority Bus System that the local government is eyeing to implement this year will push through and materialized.
The Davao Integrated Bus System, he added, can solve the congestion of vehicles in the main roads as around 7,000 passenger jeeps will be replaced with buses.
“With this, our roads will be less populated and we will see if we can have special lanes for bikers,” Abude said. (davaotoday.com)
