Transportation department asks Cebu City to submit project brief

THE Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has asked the Cebu City Government to submit a project brief on the establishment of bike lanes in the city.

This will be used for possible funding for the project’s feasibility study.

In a letter to the City, DOTC Assistant Secretary Jaime Raphael Feliciano said DOTC has already completed its transport services study for Metro Cebu but it did not include an analysis of the need for non-motorized transport.

However, Feliciano said the proposed study for the establishment of bike lanes can be considered for funding under DOTC’s Special Vehicle Pollution Control Fund (SVPCF).

This fund, he said, is intended to stop greenhouse gas emissions from mobile sources.

“In this regard, please submit a technical proposal and/or project brief on the proposed study (for the bike lanes) to help determine if it can be funded rough the SVPCF,” said Feliciano.

The project brief, Feliciano said, should contain the project’s rationale, its description, objectives, performance indicators and targets, and implementing agency or partners, among others.

City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) executive director Rafael Yap said his office will prioritize the project brief so it will be submitted to DOTC as soon as possible.

Review

The project brief will then be submitted to the City Council for review and approval.

Once approved, Yap said, the legislative body will send it to DOTC.

Citom was earlier tasked by the Council to do the feasibility study for the establishment of bike lanes in the city.

Citom refused because they don’t have the technical expertise, budget and manpower for a feasibility study.

Yap recommended for the council to ask DOTC for possible technical and financial assistance for the project, saying the agency sets aside funds annually to cover transport studies.

In an interview yesterday, Yap said he hopes DOTC can help the City with the feasibility study for the bike lanes so the project will push through.

“It is always good to provide more choices (in terms of transportation) for the people,” he said.

The bike lanes in the city are proposed to be set up along Plaza Independencia, to Legaspi Ext., to Juan Luna Ave., to Salinas Drive and to Veterans Drive.