The Lapu-Lapu General Aviation Road outside the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) complex takes on a different character as the sun sets.
Makeshift tables and vendors’ carts gather on the periphery of the road, which is a popular route for those seeking access around Mactan and avoiding the more congested roads near the Mactan Export Zones 1 and 2.
Last year, the Aviation Road started becoming popular as an open-air hangout to grab a bite, chat and unwind, and watch planes take off and land.
TikTok videos and Facebook reels increase the popularity of eating at a spot that was novel and Instagram-attractive, set against the fairy-lit backdrop of the MCIA panorama.
As the heat index rose to extremes this year, the General Aviation Road offers refreshing relief that cannot be rivaled by the airconditioned comfort of malls and hotels.
For micro entrepreneurs, the evening crowd gathering regularly at the food stands of the General Aviation Road presents opportunities to earn while keeping costs down. When the patrons thin or the food is sold out, the vendors pack up and leave on their multicabs, tricycles or bikes.
According to the principle of sustainable urban design, the General Aviation Road’s evening conversion to embrace also its “alternate” use as a dining hangout for lower- to middle-class patrons exemplifies how communities convert urban spaces to become more than just transport corridors prioritizing “maximum vehicle throughput,” according to a 2019 article by Ria Hutabarat in the “Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability.”
During early morning and late afternoon, the General Aviation Road is also popular for citizens hiking, walking, or running. Two lanes are allocated for traffic flow in each direction, with a narrowing of vehicular traffic to a single lane when the General Aviation Road joins a juncture that connects it to a narrower road in the barangay.
Hutabarat points out that “walkability” is a key principle in urban planning that means amenities are accessible through a variety of means that include walking and riding in private and public vehicles.
First mentioned by Jane Jacobs in the 1960s, a walkable city has become an important standard for livability because of its health, environmental, and economic benefits.
On the other hand, walkability requires conscious thinking, foresight, and planning by stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
According to the “Online Transport Demand Management (TDM) Encyclopedia,” stakeholders determine how to make walking “convenient, safe, and pleasant.” These strategies for walkability include: “the quality of pedestrian facilities, roadway conditions, land use patterns, community support, security and comfort for walking.”
The transition of the General Aviation Road into a popular dining and meeting hangout in the evening shows the coalescing of communal need and physical space availability.
However, there are gaps that highlight the need for government planning and regulation to ensure that the people gathered nightly to sell, dine, and meet remain safe.
The absence of clear sidewalks is a red flag for safety and security. People walking, exercising, or dining at the periphery of the General Aviation Road are vulnerable to accidents because the route is heavily used by vehicles on a 24/7 basis.
Cats, dogs, chickens, and other domestic pets share with humans the peripheries of the General Aviation Road; countless accidents involve the maiming or death of animals run over by vehicles.
The unregulated selling and buying of liquor may cause fights and brawls, behavior that is already dangerous in enclosed places and more so, when these fights take place beside a road that is heavily used.
The local government must carry out its responsibility to ensure that the General Aviation Road night scene remains “safe and pleasant” for all stakeholders.