WITH Metro Manila’s traffic congestion expected to worsen due to the start of major road infrastructure projects all over the metropolis, cycling advocates have joined the push for viable alternatives.
The Firefly Brigade and the Tiklop Society are among citizen groups supporting the Share the Road Movement as a solution to alleviate traffic congestion, the high cost of transportation and noise/air pollution. Both groups have been pushing for bike commuting to work and school.
The Share the Road Movement is calling for government to divide the roads by half: with one-half devoted for non-motorized transportation, i.e., for safe, wide, covered sidewalks, edible gardens and all-weather bike lanes; and the other half for motorized public and private transportation.
In a statement, the Firefly Brigade said “Together with the Share the Road Movement, we will be working with LGU’s and Government agencies over the year or two to create a shift in their mindset which will result in better cycling, pedestrian and mass transportation infrastructure.”
Last February 17, concerned groups gathered at the Rizal Monument in Luneta Park and walked/biked to the Supreme Court where they filed a petition for the Writ of Kalikasan (Nature) against the government to divide the roads in half.
Cycling advocates joined the group composed of carless and car-owning people who would rather not have cars if good public and multi-modal transportation were available. Also joining the walk were children, seniors, persons with disabilities, women, the Partnership for Clean Air, the Ateneo School of Government’s Mobility Program, Clean Air Asia, The Philippine Medical Association, Filipino lawyers, and concerned citizens.
The petition cited a World Bank and a government statistical study saying that only two percent of Filipinos own motor vehicles. The group argued that practically all of the roads are given to motor vehicles and that the remaining 98% of Filipinos, are not even given proper space for them to walk or bike.
The movement said it is pushing for safer, cleaner, and more reliable roads for the transportation of people, not for machines and motor vehicles.
In a statement, the group asked, “Why should 98% of the Filipinos pay for the roads to be used by only 2% of the people? The 98% of the people are not even given a place to walk.”
Respondents of the petition are the Climate Change Commission, the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Budget Management (DBM) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
The agencies were all sued for their collective neglect to implement their respective mandates to “transform the road system to favor persons who have no motor vehicles” and to plant edible gardens.
The petitioners asked the court to immediately reduce the gas allowance of cabinet members and require them to take public transportation (or walk and bike) to and from work.
“Only then will they understand that purgatory that we, ordinary citizens, have to go through every time we take public transportation, or when we walk or bike the streets. It is time to change the course of history,” said co-convenor Valerie Cruz of the University of the Philippines
The Firefly Brigade, along with environmental lawyers and NGOs, also biked to the Senate where they submitted a draft bill to lawmakers urging them to pass legislation calling for wider sidewalks and bicycle lanes.
“Road-sharing is being offered as a radical solution to perennial traffic congestion, inefficient mass transport systems and the worsening air pollution in Metro Manila and major urban centers,” Sen. Pia Cayetano said.
“As a healthy lifestyle advocate and biking enthusiast, I have long supported calls such as this seeking to make our cities walkable and bike-friendly, and the air in our cities breathable for the current and succeeding generations.
“Additionally, the government must develop efficient modes of mass transportation for our growing population. These schemes would encourage people to avail of these alternatives and be less dependent on cars, which contribute to pollution and traffic,” she added.
Cayetano is the principal author of Senate Bill No.26, the Sustainable Transportation Act, which mandates alternative and sustainable modes of transportation in order to reduce greenhouse emissions, promote efficiency in public transport systems, and encourage citizens to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
The bill also seeks the establishment of bike lanes and walkways in urban centers, promotion of non-motorized transport, and the revival of river ferry systems.
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