Longest elevated pedestrian walkway opens in Makati
A new elevated walkway extension along De la Rosa St. in Makati is expected to help alleviate traffic woes in the country’s central business district.
The 1,100- meter elevated walkway, the country’s longest elevated pedestrian walkway, now stretches from Greenbelt to Salcedo St. near the Makati Medical Center. This permits thousands of commuters daily to walk nearly the whole length of Ayala Ave. in comfort and safety.
The new 305-meter extension, stretching from V. A. Rufino St. to Salcedo St., took a year and eight months to complete. The first phase of the elevated walkway covered the stretch from Enterprise Center in Paseo de Roxas to Greenbelt.
The project is part of Makati Commercial Estate Association’s pedestrianization program, which has seen the development of the city’s underpasses with escalators, ongrade covered sidewalks and elevated walkway over the past 21 years.
“All these projects have ensured that pedestrians go through a well-lit, well-ventilated walk protected from the rain and sun,” said MaCEA president David L. Balangue. “Ultimately, we wanted to ease traffic in the Makati CBD by encouraging motorists to abandon the habit of taking short hops through streets and take to walking instead.”
The De la Rosa St. Elevated Walkway avoids being a monotonous commuter walk with thoughtfully planned spaces. There is mural art on the ceilings of the car park segments of the walkway, and eateries and convenience stores dot the way for pedestrians to take a quick bite or drink.
Aside from underpasses and walkways, MaCEA is involved in a number of development projects concerned with the overall civic, commercial and residential affairs of the city.
The association is a primary mover in the changing landscape of the country’s premier business district, encouraging a healthy lifestyle of walking, reducing air pollution and traffic congestion.
Ongoing projects include sidewalk enhancements for De la Rosa, Valero and their connecting streets, and on other streets in Salcedo and Legazpi Villages, as well as the on grade covered walkway along Valero, V. A. Rufino and De la Rosa Streets.