SAYING the EDSA bike lane is “underutilized,” Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chief Romando Artes yesterday said they are studying the possibility of motorcycle riders and bikers sharing the lane.
Artes announced the plan two days after the MMDA clamped down on riders using the bike lane, with 217 having been accosted as of yesterday.
“The EDSA bicycle lane is underutilized. Hence, the MMDA conducted a preliminary study which will end within the week,” Artes said.
“We will have a stakeholders’ meeting on August 29 which will be attended by a group of cyclists and motorcycle riders to discuss the issue,” he added.
But Artes acknowledged there are some challenges to the plan, mostly about the huge number of motorcycles plying EDSA.
Data provided by the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center showed that as of July 17, there were 165,000 motorcycles plying EDSA on a daily basis, while the number of bicycle riders using the bike lane stood only at 604 and 591 for the northbound and southbound portions, respectively.
“We will consult our stakeholders before we finalize and make recommendations to the Department of Transportation. The DOTr has the final say on the matter because the bike lane is their project,” Artes added.
Aside from road sharing, he said the agency is also studying the construction of an elevated walkway and bikeway on EDSA, from Guadalupe, Makati to Cubao, Quezon City.
Artes said they had already presented the plan to the Department of Budget and Management for funding, adding the project received the backing of Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, who suggested launching a pilot run next year.
Previous MMDA leaders had floated similar plans to alleviate the traffic condition on EDSA but nothing happened.
Back in 2019, then-Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri urged the MMDA to start with the project, saying such infrastructure will help decongest EDSA.
Zubiri said the first phase of the elevated walkway should connect Ortigas in Pasig City to the Makati Central Business District.
He said the Department of Public Works and Highways estimated the project to cost around P7 billion.
In 2020, the Asian Development Bank approved a P5.9 billion loan for the EDSA Greenways Project of the Department of Transportation seeking to build five kilometers of covered and elevated walkways near the MRT and LRT stations in Balintawak, Cubao, Guadalupe, and Taft.
A study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency estimated the metropolis’ traffic problems were costing the economy some P3.5 billion per day prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the pandemic also affected the agency’s plans for the project, with the government focusing its resources in efforts to combat the deadly virus.
MORE ACCOSTED
The MMDA said 187 motorists were accosted by its traffic enforcers as of yesterday for using the bike lane on EDSA.
Data provided by the agency showed that of the 187 accosted, 164 were motorcycle riders, six were sedans, a sports utility vehicle, five closed vans, and 16 public utility jeepneys.
Artes said their enforcers only warned the drivers of their violation and did not issue them traffic citation tickets, which would have meant a P1,000 fine.
“For now, we only remind them not to use the EDSA bicycle lane,” he said in a press briefing.
He said they have observed that many motorcycle riders started using the bike lane since the suspension of the no contact apprehension policy, which was suspended by a Supreme Court order while it tackled legal challenges to the implementation of the policy.
“Additionally, we have been receiving complaints from the bicycle groups stating that they could not use the dedicated lane for them,” Artes said.
Last Monday, the agency said 30 motorcycle riders were accosted for using the bike lane.
Artes said the agency will soon start imposing fines on violators.
“There is an existing law and if we do not enforce it, we will be remiss in our duties, so until and unless it is repealed, we will implement it,” he said, adding this may start within a week’s time.
