The “raison d'etre”  of bike lanes

Not too many people bike on Cebu City streets --Filipinos in general are not known to take on cycling as a form of mobility though a good number do cycle as a hobby or for exercise. So, when the Sugbu Bike Lanes Board (SBLB) suddenly took on those who do bike regularly, either for work or play, they generally reacted accordingly, opposing the apprehensions and confiscation of their bikes as can be seen on social media posts. The commotion is limited to biking chat groups, though, not the general public.

The SBLB did explain their side, though, pointing out order and safety and compliance to the biking ordinance. The bikers reacted to the severity while the Board defended their move quoting public order. Certainly, both sides would have sufficient reasons for or against this unexpected attack on biking per se, which should prompt us to maybe go back to the origins of the ordinance itself or its “raison d'etre” (reason for being).

City Ordinance No. 2408 which established the shared priority bike lanes in designated roads in Cebu City has many “whereas” clauses. For brevity we can generalize those three --the primary reason for sustainable mobility (transport), health, and environmental concerns, particularly on climate change. But it’s important to note that these were likewise the reason why national policies were actually issued first, even before the sanggunian passed this ordinance.

The first policy issuance was in the form of an Executive Order (EO 774) signed by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in December 2008, which reorganized the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change. Section 9 of the EO designated the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to lead the “Task Group on Fossil Fuels” to reform the transportation sector. It said: “The new paradigm in the movement of men and things must follow a simple principle: Those who have less in wheels must have more on the road.” It added, “For this purpose, the system shall favor non-motorized locomotion and collective transportation systems (walking, bicycling, and the man-powered mini-train).”

This was followed by an Administrative Order (AO 254) which GMA issued in January 2009, and which “mandates the DOTC to lead in the Formulation of a National Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) for the Philippines.” It basically reiterated the new paradigm/simple principle of the prior EO, but also specifically mandates the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), “to coordinate with local government units and guide them on the plan to transform the locomotion and transportation system to favor parties who have no motorized vehicles and facilitate the mainstreaming of the National EST Strategy.”

These concepts are all clearly emphasized in CO 2408 which created the SBLB and mandated the bike lanes. But while the SBLB already stated the reason behind their draconian moves to striking the bikers violations, may I ask them to re-study why the ordinance was passed in the first place, and the raison d'etre why we promote biking. Biking is primarily for sustainable mobility and does have health and environmental (climate change) benefits. Prioritizing enforcement and apprehensions above everything else, is certainly going against active transportation which the Philippines is promoting. We would like Cebu City to be active mobility-friendly.