By Antonio L. Colina IV
DAVAO CITY – Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said the local government will be designating “bicycle lanes” on city roads to implement a 2010 Bicycle Ordinance that would pave the way for the city transitioning into the so-called new normal.
Duterte said, during an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5), that the ordinance, which has not been implemented since its passage over a decade ago, had “several requirements” that need to be addressed, but added that the local government would nevertheless push through with delineating the roads just to get the implementation started.
“There was a review on the Bike Ordinance. During the meeting (with City Transport and Traffic Management Office or CTTMO), there was a presentation on what should be done. It (CTTMO) has drafted the bike route and it would be demarcated. There are a lot of requirements but, for now, I said, to get this done immediately, we will start with the route – connecting the route – and put the demarcation since we have a paint machine. All others (requirements) in the ordinance will follow just so we can get started,” she said.
She said the local government also received a directive from the national government to establish bicycle lanes.
“CTTMO understands the urgency of this matter,” she added.
Authored by late Councilor Leo Avila, one of the city’s green champions, the Bicycle Ordinance of Davao City was passed when President Duterte was still the mayor and his eldest daughter, Mayor Sara Duterte, the vice mayor.
The ordinance provided that the CTTMO shall designate the routes to be considered as “signed shared roadways or signed bike routes” and install signs along the routes to “indicate to the bicycle users that particular advantages exist in using the route and more importantly to serve as notice to motorized vehicle drivers that bicycle traffic is present.”
Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Eduardo Año directed “provincial governors, city and municipal mayors to coordinate with neighboring LGUs to connect bicycle lanes and establish a bicycle road network,” acknowledging the limitation of the mass transportation to cater most people who are biking to work.
He said the local governments have to establish bicycle lanes to “ensure the safety of the cyclists.”