ILOILO City – Secretary Mark Villar of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is looking forward to incorporate bike lanes and sidewalks in existing roads as well as in new road projects.
Villar said other than vehicular infrastructure, DPWH want to give emphasis on pedestrian infrastructure, wherein, when applicable, bike lanes will be included especially in new road projects.
Villar cited the recently inaugurated Laguna Lake Highway with two separate lanes for bikes only. He is also looking forward to put bike lanes in Intramuros in Manila and roads along Pasig River. He also emphasized of incorporating bike lanes along Bacolod Negros Occidental Economic Highway (BANOCEH), which is one of the high impact projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program of the Duterte Administration.
In Western Visayas, the first bike lane was constructed along with the widening of Sen. Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Avenue in 2013, making Iloilo City as the “Most Bike-Friendly City” in the whole country.
Bike lanes are also provided along some sections of the Iloilo Circumferential Road to give way to bike riders and bike enthusiasts. Some existing roads in the city also have bike lanes (painted in green at the side of the road), promoting city dwellers to use bikes in traveling around the city area, hence decongesting traffic and pollution.
In addition, Iloilo City’s road sharing best practices were showcased in the Walk21 Hong Kong 7th Annual Conference on Walking and Livable Communities in 2016.
Also, the city was hailed the “Most Bike-Friendly City” in the Philippines during the Phil-Bike Awards 2018, for practicing sustainable bike programs, supporting the biking community and promoting environmental awareness. Said award was given based on the consistency and continuous promotion of the biking community for the observance of the Republic Act No. 8749, otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999.
The government is promoting “road sharing” along national roads, as provided in Section 9 of the Executive Order No. 774, series of 2008, to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, directing DPWH and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), now Department of Transportation (DOTr), to transform roads, giving favor to non-motorized locomotion and collective transportation system like walking and bicycling./PN
