Authorities advised commuters and motorists to brace for traffic gridlock Sunday morning due to the closure of Roxas Boulevard in connection with the Road Sharing event to improve public transportation and air quality in the community.
Lawyer Emerson Carlos, chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority, said his agency came up with a decision to close to vehicular traffic the southbound lane of Roxas Boulevard from Pasay City area to Manila to give way for the event dubbed as “Kalye-Share” spearheaded by the Bayanihan sa Daan Movement.
“The southbound portion of the Roxas Boulevard would be closed to traffic starting 6:30 a.m. up to lunch time,” said Carlos.
The MMDA said motorists coming from Manila going to southern part of Metro Manila should take Osmeña Highway and Quirino Roads, instead of Roxas Boulevard.
From Padre Burgos Street, motorists may also take Orosa Street right to Kalaw Avenue left to M.H. Del Pilar Street left to Quirino Avenue and right to F.B. Harrison Street to Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.
The event will start at exactly 7 a.m. and expected to affect traffic on major roads from Edsa Extension in Pasay City to the Manila Hotel in Manila.
Carlos ordered the deployment of 60 MMDA traffic enforcers to manage traffic and guide motorists along the stretch of Roxas Boulevard.
“With this event we hope we may be able to generate the interest and support from the road users and society as well,” he said.
Carlos said the outermost lane will be used by pedestrians while the second and third lane will be designated for bicycles. The innermost lane will be for the demonstration of the Department of Science and Technology’s hybrid electric road train.
He also said 100 MMDA bikes will be lent to the public for free, provided that the bikers will present an identification card.
The Bayanihan sa Daan Movement leads the event with the support of the national government together with the Corporations, Institutions, Organizations and Civil Society Groups.
Tony Opposa, Bayanihan conceptor, said that this is about showing how we can improve public transportation.
Around 3,000 people are expected to join the event, Opposa said.
Opposa said the group’s mission is to improve public transportation, gives space for people to walk on and bicycles to ride on and lastly, to improve the air quality of the city.
The group seeks to transform the roads of the country to become roads designed to move people in a way that is safe, efficient, convenient, reliable, and affordable.
The exercise will demonstrate the effectiveness of road sharing, a necessary step in the shift towards a bicycle-friendly Philippines, the group said.
The group cited a study which showed that 90 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila is caused by motorized vehicles.
Last year, the same road sharing event was held from Quirino Grandstand in Luneta to SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
The event came few days after the MMDA opened a new bicycle lane along Roxas Boulevard in Manila where bikers can borrow and store bicycles, and go cycling from Raja Sulayman to Burgos Avenue service road northbound.
Several bike lanes were also set up along Edsa from Magallanes to Ayala Avenue in Makati; University Avenue to Tandang Sora in Quezon City; Remedios Circle to Roxas Boulevard in Manila; and Santolan LRT-2 Station in Quezon City to Imelda Avenue along Marcos Highway in Marikina.
The MMDA has also opened bike lanes along Katipunan Avenue, that starts from Aurora Boulevard to Miriam College.
The bicycle lanes were conceptualized to promote and enhance street and neighborhood identity, increase foot and bike traffic, and reduce vehicle congestion and air pollution along major thoroughfares as well as promote healthy living and well-being.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the transport sector contributed 27 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide in 2010 and this could double by 2050.
A study also showed that transport sector emissions accounted for 30 percent of air pollution in the Philippines and in Metro Manila, about 90 percent.
