With all the news worthy events happening everyday, you might have missed the commotion that happened in Makati recently. Ayala Land, through its Make It Makati (MIM) Facebook page, announced on Feb 11 that the exclusive bike lanes along Ayala Avenue will be no more and will be converted into “sharrows” or shared bike lanes. Their stance was as there are now more PUVs plying the road, they need more space for the commuting public which is why the exclusive bike lanes will be removed.
“Prior to the pandemic or up to early 2019, a total of 799 buses were authorized by LTFRB to ply Ayala Ave. By Jan 2023, this number has been increased to 1,073 or a 34% increase due to the anticipated increase in commuters.” MIM said in a follow up statement.
Before we dissect that thought, what are sharrows? Sharrows are shared lanes between bicycles (and other light vehicles like e-scooters), cars, and public vehicles. Roads that implement sharrows only have the logo (a dual arrow pointing up over a bike icon) painted on the street or on a sign post. It serves as a reminder that in that particular road/street, both drivers and cyclists have to be more mindful of their surroundings. What’s wrong with that?
In MMDA’s 2021 report of Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS) covering NCR, cars were the most involved in road accidents at 48.11% followed by motorcycles at 23.85%. Buses only accounted for 1.93% of all accidents in the region but we don’t need numbers to know how aggressive these metal beasts are on the road. In the same report, Makati ranked third in most road accidents despite being smaller (in total land area) than lower ranking cities Pasig, Taguig, and Parañaque.
There’s also stats for cyclists in the MMARAS. There were 2,397 accidents involving them in 2021 for the whole NCR. They usually happen during the morning rush at 6am to 9am, then again peaking at the ‘uwian’ rush from 3pm to 10pm. Most of their accidents are Side Swipes (30.28%) and Rear Ends (14.5%), situations that can be avoided with protected bike lanes.
Removing the protected bike lane means cyclists and other light vehicle riders will be more prone to accidents and fatalities. They don’t have the benefit of metal panels to protect them from collisions. Sure, there are ways to go around this like having enforcers similar to what QC-LGU does in the bike lane of Circle – but they’re not there 24/7.
In a harmonious society, we can share the road with other motorists. But the numbers speak for themselves. Removing the protected bike lanes will only worsen the risk that cyclists already face in their everyday ride. This is why they held solidarity rides on Ayala Ave. following the announcement and voiced out their concerns. Meetings and dialogues between the parties were made. This went on until Feb 24 when MIM published a statement saying that Ayala Land changed their stance on the situation and will retain the protected bike lanes. It was a small win but a crucial one. Ayala Ave might be less than 2km long but someone recognizing the importance of protected bike lanes is momentous.
Sharing the road was only possible because of the pandemic. Prior to this, bike lanes are almost non-existent. The lockdowns imposed in 2020 hampered public transportation that people had to make their own solution just to get to work, to help keep the economy going.
But even now that restrictions have eased and we are back to buses, jeeps, and other PUVs, the problem still persists – it’s hard to commute in Metro Manila especially if you work at night. This is why bike lanes are crucial for a lot of people who use it as their means of transportation not just for getting to work or school, but leisurely activities as well. They already shouldered their own solution to the unforgiving traffic, bad public transportation, and even helps lessen greenhouse gases in the city. The least an LGU or government agency can do is make sure they can get home safe every single day, at least in their vicinity.