Bike Day proposed in Baguio

A DAY for bikers has been proposed in the city.

Councilor Mylen Yaranon has proposed an ordinance, passed on first reading asking for a “Bicycle Day” every Sunday of the week.

The proposed law aims to encourage and promote the use of bicycles as an alternative mode of transportation, urging residents to use bicycles as a mode of transportation every Sunday.

Once the proposed ordinance is passed, the City Mayors Office with the City Engineering Office (CEO), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Baguio City Police Office Traffic Management Unit (BCPO – TMU) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) will be implementing the law and see to it bicycle facilities are established.

Yaranon said facilities for bikes include, bike lanes in all roads within the city, physical dividers in places that such dividers is not physically feasible, the dividers be identified through reflectorized painted lines, pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvement, traffic signages pertaining to bicycles and bicycle parking facilities.

On June 3, close to 300 cyclists went out to commemorate the day riding around the city led by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Councilors Maria Mylen Victoria Guirnalda Yaranon and Levy Orcales.

Jim Ward of the Daily Cycle Movement (DCM) said the world bikes day started years ago in 2018 by decree of the United Nations.

“We are happy to say as soon as it came out, Baguio city was the first in the country where the City Council did a resolution declaring June 3 as a bicycle day. As cyclists, we felt honored and respected by our city, that means a lot and is all that we have been after ever since,” Ward added.

DCM has been advocating the use of bikes for mobility as well as the establishment of safe cycling in the city.

The United Nations, meanwhile, encourages to include the bicycle in international, regional, national and subnational development policies and programs as well as improve road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design, in particular through policies and measures to actively protect and promote pedestrian safety and cycling mobility, with a view to broader health outcomes, particularly the prevention of injuries and non-communicable diseases.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), safe infrastructure for walking and cycling is also a pathway for achieving greater health equity. For the poorest urban sector, who often cannot afford private vehicles, walking and cycling can provide a form of transport while reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes, and even death.

Accordingly, improved active transport is not only healthy; it is also equitable and cost-effective.