DAVAO CITY – Davao City-based Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) has pushed for a local measure implementing a weekly car-free day on certain streets here.

Lemuel Manalo, IDIS program coordinator, said that the measure would require the people here not to use their diesel-powered vehicles once the measure is passed into law.

He said that they are discussing the proposal with Councilor Luna Acosta of the first district.

Manalo said that the measure may require temporary closure of main avenues for certain hours, either on Saturday or Sunday, to allow pedestrians or individuals to do recreational activities like jogging, bicycling, or pet walking.

He said that some streets viable for this activity include Roxas Ave. and San Pedro St.

“The car-free day is an activity, which intends to celebrate being car free even just for one day,” Manalo said.

Manalo said some areas in the Philippines are implementing a car-free day – Ayala Ave. in Makati City and the cities of Antipolo and Muntinlupa. Jakarta, Indonesia is famous for its longest car free avenue for recreational activities on Sundays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

“We don’t have this yet in Davao City but we need to push for it. There are different cities that have been managing and implementing it already either private or local government,” he said.

He said that this proposal was lobbied before the pandemic through former Councilor Maria Belen Sunga-Acosta but did not push through due to the “complex routes” and the difficulty of harmonizing them with the bus stops and routes of the Davao City Transport Modernization Project or the High Priority Bus System.

Manalo said that they will try to simplify the routes for the car-free day to make it feasible this time.

“We need to improve this. First, we need to change the routes and come up with more manageable design…The ordinance will also require the barangays to replicate temporary closures for walking,” he said.