Philippines Builds 500km of Bike Lanes in Less Than a Year
In September 2020, according to the World Bank Blogs, the rise of cycling in the Philippines due to the pandemic led the national government to allocate more than 22 million USD towards active mobility infrastructure.
This investment resulted in the country’s largest bike lane construction program in its history — almost 500 kilometres across Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao were constructed in less than a year.
Several financial partners assisted to form a World Bank team. With additional support from the Netherlands Embassy, a series of training sessions were undertaken on topics such as Dutch cycling infrastructure principles, which are considered among the best in the world.
The new cycling infrastructure was designed to meet the highest safety standards, as the World Bank team not only worked with road safety experts but also involved the community, including persons with disabilities, women and the elderly.