BY RAYMART ESCOPEL
ILOILO City – How do you solve a problem like traffic congestion?
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has been urged to incorporate bike lanes in ongoing and future road projects here.
These lanes can help solve traffic congestion and minimize air pollution, said Councilor Jason Gonzales.
He introduced a resolution in the city council urging DPWH to include bike lanes in road projects.
Iloilo City has a total of 70,000 registered vehicles plying its streets, said Gonzales, citing data from the Iloilo City Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).
“Our streets cannot handle them all,” Gonzales said.
Land Transportation Office records, on the other hand, showed a six percent increase in the number of registered vehicles here in the first quarters of 2012 and 2013.
The growing number of vehicles is a problem, said Gonzales.
“(Traffic) rerouting can solve that…the only way is to present multi-modal transport systems,” he said.
Citing a research, Gonzales said a one percent increase in the number of commuters using bicycles will translate to a 15 percent reduction in traffic condition.
A 2007 City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) data showed a small fraction of trips done using bicycles – 3.15 percent.
Gonzales said there must be support facilities such as more bike lanes and bike racks to convince people that it’s okay to use bicycles.
The CPDO is currently developing a Comprehensive Bike Plan for the city./PN
