Isko backs proposed bikeway in Manila

MANILA Mayor Isko Moreno (right) leads a Flag Day commemoration ceremony with Manila Vice Mayor Maria Sheilah Lacuna-Pangan (left) and other city officials at the Bonifacio Shrine near the Manila City Hall yesterday. (Manny Llanes)

The Manila City government is studying proposals to set up bike lanes in the city’s thoroughfares amid restrictions on public transportation during the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ).

In his city address on Wednesday, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said he attended a meeting with bike enthusiasts, including Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Director Gerardo Legaspi, about the proposed “protected and dedicated” bikeway system in the city.

As most of public transport operations remain suspended with only tricycles allowed to operate during MECQ, the group said bike lanes along the corridor and intersections of U.N. Avenue to Quirino Avenue in Manila should be set up.

There should be physical separators between bike lanes and carriageways and specialized signage and signals for bikers, the group added.

Bikers must only exit lanes at eight intersections that will be set up to ensure safety and order in the Philippine capital’s streets.

Domagoso said it would “make sense” to establish bike lanes because many workers opted to use their bikes to get around a er the ECQ was implemented.

The Manila mayor said he is hoping that the project will be implemented “as soon as possible.”