An initiative to establish exclusive motorcycle lanes along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City has received the 1-Rider Party-list’s seal of approval.
On Oct. 19, the Metro Manila Council (MMC) approved the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority's (MMDA) proposal to establish exclusive motorcycles, bicycles, and public utility vehicles (PUV) lanes along Commonwealth Avenue.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/12/mmda-eyes-exclusive-motorcycle-lanes-along-commonwealth-avenue/
"We laud and thank the MMC, composed of mayors in the National Capital Region, for agreeing with MMDA that there's a need to create exclusive lanes for riders and other motorists to prevent road accidents," !-Rider Rep. Ramon Gutierrez said on Friday, Oct. 21.
About 1,010 motorcycle-related accidents took place on Commonwealth Avenue from january to August 2022, Gutierrez said in his statement, citing MMDA statistics.
Of the 1,010 accidents, about nine were fatal, 557 were non-fatal, and 444 caused property damage. The lawmaker highlighted that motorcycle riders needed their own lane as they were the most exposed and at-risk road sectors.
"Ang mangyayari dito sa Commonwealth, iimplement natin, testing phase, pag-aaralan kung ito ay talagang helpful sa traffic, kung talagang mababa ang accident rate at kapag ito ay nangyari at ito ay na-achieve baka i-replicate sa ibang roads (What will happen along the Commonwealth is that we’ll implement a testing phase, study if this is helpful to traffic. If it achieves this, it may be replicated along other roads),” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez added that, during the sector consultations with the MMDA, riders had asked for one-and-a-half to two lanes. However, due to limitations in the space, a compromise of one lane was agreed upon.
“Yung dating implementation nito ay hindi exclusive. Ito ang promise ng MMDA sa ating mga riders: Kung dati ang mga motorcycle riders, inilalagay lang sa isang lane, tapos ang mga kotse, pwede rin gamitin ang lane, iba na ngayon, exclusive na (The past implementation of this was not exclusive. This is the promise of the MMDA: in the past if motorcycle riders were put in a lane which four-wheeled vehicles could use, it’s different now, it’s exclusive),” he ended.