THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bacolod Engineering District will send a team to the cities of Iloilo and Manila to observe the implementation of bicycle lanes.
Bacolod City Lone District Representative Greg Gasataya said the members of the bikers club, DPWH, and the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) agreed to make the observation trips.
He said the DPWH will submit their observation next week and discuss it with the bikers and the BTAO.
The Office of the Road Board had earlier approved a budget of P62 million for the construction of bike lanes along the national highways of Bacolod.
The Road Board is the governments' steward for the objective utilization of the Motor Vehicle User's Charge (MVUC) fund. Since 2001, the Road Board is at the forefront in acting as the supplemental source of funding for road maintenance all throughout our national and local roads.
In previous years, the City Council approved an ordinance authored by Councilor Em Ang establishing bike lanes, or bike-friendly zones, along several streets in Bacolod.
The ordinance provides for the establishment of bike lanes along Burgos Street-Circumferential Road up to Barangay Alangilan and the Bacolod-Murcia Road, Barangay Alijis to Bacolod-Murcia boundary, and Barangay Mansilingan.
“We will finalize everything next week to tackle all the observations of the DPWH,” Gasataya said.
He said initially, it will be a one-meter wide bike lane.
The DPWH was tasked to implement the project. The bidding of the project may start next month or by June and the winning bidder will construct signage, paints, and some traffic requirements.
Gasataya said the bike lane is an open area and there will be no barricade.
He added that the BTAO was tasked to monitor the bike lane and to arrest the violators who are occupying the area.
“Vehicles should not occupy the bike lane because it’s only for bikers,” Gasataya added. (MAP)