AN OFFICIAL of the Mandaue City Government has admitted that the city’s bike lane network is still far from completion.
Marlo Ocleasa, who heads the city’s Planning and Development Office (PDO), said that as of Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, they had only completed around 20 percent of the city’s bike lane network.
Ocleasa, an architect, said they only covered the first of four phases of the city’s bike lane network project which involves replacing bollards, repainting the existing bike lanes and restoring existing bike stations, among others.
Ocleasa said they target to finish the entire bike lane network by 2025.
Budget
On Monday, the Mandaue City Council approved an additional P2.5 million for the city’s bike lane network, on top of the P8 million the City allocated in 2020 for its implementation.
But Ocleasa said that the first phase of the project would need a rough estimate of P30 million for its completion.
After requesting the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Central Office to provide funds for bike lanes situated along the city’s major thoroughfares that are under its jurisdiction, Ocleasa said the agency downloaded funds for the project.
However, Ocleasa said he had no idea of the exact amount coming from the DPWH Central Office.
Replacing concrete barriers
Ocleasa said they would also propose to the City Council to replace concrete barriers placed along the city’s bike lanes with plastic bollards.
He said concrete barriers had been often blamed for road accidents.
The bike network project was initiated by the Mandaue City Government in 2020, citing that many of its residents opted to use their bikes when traveling or heading to work amid the pandemic.
It covers the entire area of the city with installed dedicated and shared lanes, particularly at A.C. Cortes Avenue, M.C. Briones Street, and Ouano Avenue.
Based on the data presented by the PDO, at least 12,120 bikers traversed the city’s bike lanes every week in 2021. This increased to 26,019 in 2022.
Ocleasa said they hope to expedite the project with the funds already prepared.