Eco group pushes bike lanes anew

CEBU, Philippines - A day before actual celebration of Earth Day, a group of bikers, long boarders, and environmental advocates gathered and once again pushed for bike lanes in Cebu City.

Earth Day 2013 Green Festival Cebu, organized by civic group Movement for a Livable Cebu (MLC), assembled around 250 to 300 bikers and another 15-20 long boarders in an early Saturday morning 13 to 15 kilometer ride route that started and ended at West Gorordo Hotel, the first recognized green hotel in the city.

The activity is also dubbed “Bike and Board Green Lungs Tour” emphasizing on the fact that biking and long boarding does not harm the environment while also being a form of exercise.

The group trekked roads at Gorordo Avenue, Cebu Business Park, Redemptorist Parish, taking interior roads heading for V. Rama Avenue, leading to the Provincial Capitol area taking Escario Street, passing through Barangay Lahug and Apas, entering DepEd Ecotech before going to UP Cebu campus before heading back to West Gorordo Hotel.

A petition for bike lanes was also signed during the activity.  The petition is calling the barangay councils in the city to consider passing a resolution for bike lanes and road sharing.

The group has earlier urged the city government to finally recognize the rights of bikers and not just motor vehicles.

City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) executive director Atty. Raffy Yap said the city government has been aware of this concern.

“I am not sure if the petition on the barangay level is more achievable than with the city council. We need technical assistance man gud. We don’t have bicycle transportation experts in city government. We told city council the same thing and we suggested that they write DOTC to ask for funding/technical assistance for bike lanes,” Yap told The FREEMAN.

He added that the city government has indeed written the agency on the matter through a resolution and is awaiting for DOTC’s reply.

Answering speculations that he was using the civic group for business interests, MLC convenor Joel Lee defended using the hotel that his family owns as the venue for MLC activities saying he is not taking advantage of the cause to promote his business interest.

“We happened to be the first green hotel. Can you take it against us? Everybody has a reason to be promoting oneself,” Lee told reporters. —/FPL (FREEMAN)