In the aftermath of the Quiapo road rage incident where a cyclist was brutally killed by an irate motorist, Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada said he is considering putting up dedicated bike lanes in some Manila streets.
Estrada said he plans to discuss this with concerned government traffic agencies such as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and cycling organizations.
“Biking is a healthy exercise and it’s environment-friendly and less use of motor vehicles means less air pollution,” the mayor said.
The mayor acknowledged that many streets in Manila are narrow, owing to its Spanish-era design when horse-drawn calesas were the main transportation.
“This is why we have narrow roads, which is often the cause of traffic congestion, and in rare instances, road rage cases like the one that happened in Quiapo,” Estrada pointed out.
The victim of the Quiapo road rage, Mark Vincent Garalde, had a traffic spat with Army reservist Vhon Tanto on Arlegui Street. They got into a fight in P. Casal Street which ended with Tanto shooting Garalde dead.
With dedicated bike lanes, Estrada said, bikers will have safe corridors and they will also encourage others to try cycling as an alternative urban transportation.
Estrada’s bike lane idea gained the support of the Manila Police District-Traffic Enforcement Unit (MPD-TEU).
MPD-TEU chief Supt. Olivia Sagaysay said any measure aimed at decongesting Manila’s streets is welcome.
“One less car in the street is a huge reduction in the volume of traffic,” Sagaysay pointed out. “We are with the Mayor in this idea to install bike lanes in the city.”
Sagaysay added that they are proposing a citywide no parking policy for employees in Manila to discourage them from bringing their cars to work.
The MMDA has actually put up two bike lanes in Manila: one runs from Remedios Circle to M. Adriatico Street (1.44 kilometers) and another along Roxas Boulevard from Rajah Soliman to the US Embassy. But these have mostly been left unused.