The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is eyeing to convert the bicycle lanes along the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) into a shared lanes with motorcycles amid the heavy volume of vehicles travelling along the road especially during rush hours.

MMDA chairman Don Artes disclosed that he had already ordered a study on the proposed shared lanes last month as part of the solution to address the heavy traffic congestion along EDSA, considered as the busiest road in the country. 

In fact, he said there was already a precedence on this concept when San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora heeded the MMDA request to remove the bollards that separate the bike lane near the Ortigas portion from the EDSA main lanes in order to accommodate vehicles amid observation that the area usually becomes a bottleneck for traffic. 

“There is an ongoing study on the matter and we just want to finish this study before we come up with the recommendation (on the shared bike lanes with motorcycles),” said Artes in a press briefing on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

The proposed shared lane cropped up as the MMDA started implementing the law that prohibits motorcycles and other vehicles from encroaching into the bike lanes which was set in order to ensure the protection of the bicycle riders.

It was recalled that the national government has started aggressively pushing for the use of bicycles as a means of transportation in Metro Manila due to heavy traffic and the problem with the mass transportation system.

A total of 30 motorcycle riders were apprehended on the first day of the strict implementation on Monday, Aug. 21. But all of them were just warned.

As of 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22, a total of 85 motorists were apprehended: 80 of them were motorcycle riders, two were driving sedans and three were jeepney drivers.

But Artes said all of those who would be apprehended would just be warned and be spared from the P1,000 fine in the next few days.

“That is the compromise that we accepted on this. We will deploy our personnel there to warn motorists to refrain from encroaching into the bicycle lanes. And this is just for one week,” said Artes.

But wait… 

Amid the proposal to convert EDSA bicycle lanes into shared lanes with motorcycles, Artes explained that there is one factor that made them question whether or not this would be effective in addressing traffic congestion. 

While there were observations that there are only a few bicycle riders travelling along EDSA, the situation is different for motorcycles.

Citing the MMDA data, Artes disclosed there are 165,000 motorcycles travelling along EDSA on a daily basis and this is the reason, he said, why they need more time to conduct a study on the proposal.

“So the space for bike lanes along EDSA is definitely not enough to accommodate all of them,” said Artes.

Focus of the study

Part of the study being conducted, according to Artes, is to determine whether or not the bike lanes would be expanded to accommodate motorcycles once the concept of shared lanes is implemented.

Another option relating to this factor, he said, is to convert the pedestrian lane along EDSA into shared space with bicycles.

“This was already done before. In fact in the Ortigas portion (near Camp Aguinaldo), the bike lane is located at the pedestrian lane,” said Artes.

He, however, said that there is also a pending proposal to construct an elevated walkway along EDSA in order to ensure the safety of the pedestrians.

While this specific proposal was welcomed by officials from the government’s transport sector, Artes said they temporarily halted the discussion on the idea without the study that focuses on whether or not the MMDA would be able to maintain it.

Another option is to determine if the shared lane would be optional for motorcycle riders and if this would be done in specific time periods like during morning and afternoon/evening rush hours. 

“There are a lot of measures that we are looking into so that’s the reason why we have to complete the study first so that the facts are thorough before we could come up with the recommendations,” said Artes. 

Would it solve EDSA traffic?

Definitely not, according to Artes, citing the huge volume of vehicles that ply along EDSA daily.

Based on the MMDA data, more than 436,000 vehicles travel along EDSA daily and this figure already surpassed the pre-Covid-19 pandemic level.

What the MMDA is trying to do, according to Artes, is to implement the existing laws in order to impose discipline among the motorists that would eventually result in preventing EDSA from being a big parking lot like before.

For Artes, various infrastructure projects and the significant improvement in mass transportation remain the best and long-term solution to address traffic woes not only along EDSA but also in Metro Manila.

But sans these concrete solutions, he said the MMDA would have to do with strictly imposing traffic laws to keep the EDSA traffic moving.

Stakeholders meeting

Artes said they will be holding a stakeholders meeting on the proposal for shared bicycle lanes with motorcycles on Aug. 29.

He said they would invite groups from the bicycle rider and motorcycle rider sectors in order to discuss the matter thoroughly. 

Once all the opinions and recommendations are heard and once the MMDA’s own study is done, Artes said they would submit the recommendation to the Department of Transportation for review and approval.