Calabarzon bike lane network ready by early 2024

MANILA  -By the first quarter of next year, a 76.7-kilometer bike lane project traversing five cities and municipalities across Calabarzon is expected to welcome cyclists and ease the traffic in the highly populated area comprising the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr), along with the Department of Highways and Public Works and local government units, held a groundbreaking ceremony in Lipa, Batangas, on Monday for the P151.7-million project in line with its active transport initiative.

The project, which includes Class 2 and Class 3 bike lanes, will cover Batangas City, Lipa, Antipolo, Cainta and San Mateo.

Class 3 lanes, which are marked by broken lines on the road, are the least protected as these are shared with motor vehicles. Class 2 lanes are separated by pavement marking and/or physical separators but are still on the same carriage way.

DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista said establishing bike lanes would not only make mobility more convenient but would also have a positive health impact. Last month, the DOTr also broke ground for the 3.2-km bike lane in Laoag and launched the 13.16-km bike lane project in Kalibo.

The agency is targeting to start the construction of Edsa Greenways Project—a 5-km elevated walkway traversing Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare—next year. It is expected to be completed by February 2027.

About 564 km of bike lanes are currently established in Metro Cebu, Metro Manila and Metro Davao. The DOTr wants to expand this to 2,400 km by 2028. In parallel with this, the DOTr is currently procuring services for the creation of feasibility studies related to active transport program.

Apart from expanding bike lanes, the government also seeks to establish end-of-trip cycling facilities like bike racks and public transport stops to make bike commuting more convenient for the public.

Robert Siy, coconvener of transport advocacy group Move as One Coalition, previously told the Inquirer that at least 25 percent of the national and local roads—spanning over 180,000 km in total—should have protected bike lanes. A 2022 survey by the Social Weather Stations noted that one in four Filipino households owns a bike and about 30 percent of them have at least one household member biking for essential or leisure purposes. INQ