THE country’s national sports association for cycling yesterday welcomed the inclusion of dedicated bike lanes in the soon-to-be-constructed Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) and emphasized efforts to ensure the protection of cyclists and bikers who are using these thoroughfares to go to work or for fitness and leisure.
Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, president of the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines (Philcycling), welcomed the possible inclusion of San Miguel Corporation’s 19.37-kilometer PAREX to the 313-kilometer Metro Manila Bike Lane Network that cuts through the cities of Pasig, Marikina, Quezon City, Caloocan, Manila, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasay, Las Piñas, Parañaque, and Taguig.
The bike network, inaugurated last July, is part of the nationwide 497-kilometer network that also includes Metro Cebu and in Metro Davao and touted to be longest in the country.
“We thank San Miguel Corp. for the inclusion of bike lanes in this transport infrastructure that will also benefit cyclists and leisure bikers along with car users and commuters,” said Tolentino, also the Philippine Olympic Committee president. “The pandemic has rekindled the Filipinos’ love for cycling and biking and it is now one of safest ways to go to work and one of the easiest ways to get fit to protect and gain immunity against COVID-19.
“Although sports are generally at a standstill during the pandemic, we tend to see it differently in the national cycling association,” Tolentino said. “With more Filipinos taking up cycling and biking whether for competition, fitness, and leisure and the government’s construction of road infrastructure dedicated to them, we are doing very well in the promotion of this sport.”
The PAREX will be built along the banks of the Pasig River and will connect Radial Road 10 in the City of Manila to C-6 road in Taguig.
