Cycling provides a myriad of benefits for your health, not to mention that of a city. More people on bikes typically means fewer people driving cars. Fewer cars mean better air thus resulting in a healthier and greener community.
This is one of the reasons why Mayor Jerry Treas is working hard to establish Iloilo City as the Bike Capital of the Philippines. He has appropriated cash for infrastructure and related purposes, and he has urged Ilonggos to utilize bicycles for transportation when visiting the city.
Iloilo City, where the past is always present, relives its glory days by enhancing mobility in public places by integrating bike lanes in the country's longest linear park, the 9-kilometer Esplanade stretching on both sides of the banks of the Iloilo River in the city's center.
The Iloilo City Government through the Bike Council has "I-Bike Program" which aims to improve the cycling culture in the metro and maintain its status as the bike capital. The City is collaborating closely with national government agencies, private sector partners, and more than 200 bikers groups in establishing bike lanes, from painting to putting concrete pots for plants and flowers that act as barriers, as well as road safety advocacies.
A total of P68 million has been allocated for Programs, Projects, Activities (PPAs) Promoting Active Transport and Beautification / Maintenance of Bike Lanes and Esplanades, comprising P34.6 million in 2020 and P33.4 million in 2021
Recently, the city began collecting more accurate statistics on bike lanes that can be used for planning and policy formulation
Mayor Jerry Treňas expects that this will further improve bike-friendly initiatives for the safety of bikers.
Pilipinas Trapikom Corporation has offered assistance to the city in establishing an automated bicycle traffic data system.
These were installed on flat surfaces and mid-sections in Mandurriao and Delgado locations for a test-run, and were specifically designed to monitor active transport modes on cycleways and shared paths.
With the establishment of the Diversion Road bike lanes and university loop, biking is already embedded in the Ilonggo culture. According to Arch. Wilfredo Sy of the City Planning and Development Office, the city may use this technology to validate other roads that will be used as bike lanes and eventually pass ordinances and incentives as part of the bike culture
The data collected from the devices can aid in the planning of future expansion and development of identified bike lanes in the city.
"More projects are up ahead for the development of our bike lanes, and to support my people's sustainable living at the Bike Capital of the Philippines," Treñas promised.