SUPREME Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen is pushing for better roads for bikers and pedestrians, especially in urban areas, instead of private cars.
In a series of tweets last Saturday night, Leonen argued that accessible walkways are better than roads for private cars that, he added, are simply congested in no time at all.
“What if we built roads for bicycles and more accessible walkways for pedestrians rather than roads for private cars? What if bicycles (not motorcycles) and pedestrians are given priority in government infrastructure projects? Would this be more equitable? Just asking,” Leonen, a bike enthusiast, said.
The magistrate said building more roads to accommodate the growing number of vehicles has failed to address traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
“Just an observation. There are simply too many cars and vehicles vis-a-vis the limited space of our road network in Metro Manila. Time to collectively/individually consider other solutions besides just building more roads and selling more cars (and motorcycles)?” he added.
Last month, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairperson Romando Artes said the agency is studying the creation of an elevated walkway and bikeway on EDSA, from Guadalupe in Makati to Cubao in Quezon City.
Artes said they had presented the plan to the Department of Budget and Management for funding, adding the project has received the backing of Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, who suggested launching a pilot run next year.
Previous MMDA leadership had floated similar plans to alleviate traffic conditions in EDSA but nothing happened.
As early as 2019, then-Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri urged the MMDA to start the project, saying such infrastructure for pedestrians would help decongest EDSA.
Zubiri said the first phase of the elevated walkway should connect Ortigas in Pasig City to the Makati Central Business District.
He said the Department of Public Works and Highways estimated the project to cost around P7 billion.
In 2020, the Asian Development Bank approved the P5.9 billion loan for the EDSA Greenways Project of the Department of Transportation, which seeks to build a total of five kilometers of covered and elevated walkways near the MRT and LRT stations in Balintawak, Cubao, Guadalupe and Taft.
A study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency estimated the metropolis’ traffic problems cost the economy some P3.5 billion per day prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the pandemic also affected the agency’s plans for the project, with the government focusing its resources in the effort to combat the deadly virus.
Last week, Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said it would open bike lanes in Lipa City, Batangas City, Antipolo City, and the municipalities of San Mateo and Cainta in Rizal.
Bautista said the bike lanes covering around 76 kilometers will be completed in 2024.
He added the department is set to expand the bike lane network to 2,400 kilometers by 2028.
