by Leandre Grecia | Sept 21, 2021| Published by Top Gear | READ THE STORY HERE

Metro Manila may have the biggest bike-lane network in the country just because of the sheer size of the region, but a good chunk of that network probably isn’t the most cyclist-friendly. If we’re talking about properly built bike lanes, there are places outside the capital we can look to.

Baguio City is one locale we can take notes from. While the city government is still working on expanding and improving its infrastructure for cyclists, it currently has something in the pipeline that we could easily replicate in Metro Manila—protected bike lanes.

As you can see in the images here, the bike lane isn’t merely separated from the motor-vehicle lanes using barriers or poles. Instead, a concrete plant box is installed as a divider. This is still just a mock-up, though, so the LGU has yet to put up more of these around the city.

The person who took this image is Aldrin Pelicano, urban mobility advocacy group MNL Moves founder and Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities inclusive mobility advisor. He calls this mock-up project something that could show how separated bike lanes “can help more people choose cycling to move around the city,” be it in the capital or elsewhere.

“Adequate width, separation, smooth surface, protection at intersections, and forming a complete network are some of the basic considerations when building bike lanes for everyday transport,” Pelicano adds. “In other words, it’s [about] safety, comfort, directness, and connectivity.”

Now, we’re not experts, so we’re not sure if Baguio City’s execution is cheaper than the bike lanes we’re used to in the metro. All we know is that dividers like these are way easier on the eyes, and they can allow more greenery to thrive in the city. We can already imagine these lining up the side lanes along EDSA. Wouldn’t that be something?

Photo by Aldrin Pelicano