In Valenzuela City, a linear park by the river opens

On the last Sunday morning of January, Valenzuela City opened the initial segments of the Polo Riverwalk, a linear park with walking paths and cycling lanes that repurposes old flood control structures of the city, not unlike the High Line in New York or Chicago's 606 Elevated Rail.

The riverwalk is located at the heart of Valenzuela City's old town center of Polo, which featured a lot of flood control projects like river walls because the area was, well, flood-prone.

These river walls, sturdy and with enough space — they had a width of about five meters at the top — were off-limits to the public.  

"Over time, napagiwanan yung area (Polo)," King Urieta of the LGU’s Cultural and Tourism Development Office and the head of its park and events division office told GMA News Online in an interview a few months ago. And as such the river walls with enough spaces became abandoned. 

With the clamor for green open spaces, former Mayor and DSWD secretary Rex Gatchalian and his team looked at these abandoned structures and thought, why not make them publicly accessible?

Enlisting the help of Architect Gerald Lico — the same guy the LGU tapped for their highly successful pedestrianization of Fatima Avenue — Valenzuela worked on the river wall and conceptualized a riverwalk that encourages a more active lifestyle, lessen dependence on motorized vehicles, and responds to the World Health Organization's recommendation of having 9 square meters of green space per person. 

The first segments of the Polo Riverwalk opened with a cycling path and a joggers lane throughout its 2.5-kilometer stretch. It also features a lot of refreshing greenery, like a bamboo forest providing a cool green corridor, patches of landscaped gardens, plus young trees in planter boxes to provide extra cooling and shade.    

The pet-friendly park also has ample lighting, PWD-friendship restrooms, 24/7 CCTV monitoring, and park benches that allow rest to tired cyclists and joggers. 

"It's a really nice place to stroll around and the way that it was designed to connect communities previously separated by the river and the flooded areas is great," Matthew Gan, a mobility advocate and resident of Mandaluyong City tells GMA News Online.

Gan went out of his way to attend the opening. "It took me up to 2 hours by public transport on a Sunday morning but it was well worth it," he said, adding his favorite parts of the park were the ones "completely surrounded by water" and the "bamboo forest which feels every immersive."

A project of the DPWH in close coordination with the office of First District Rep. Kenneth Gatchalian and former Mayor and now DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the Polo Riverwalk currently stretches for 2.5 kilometers and is accessible from Marcelo H. Del Pilar Street. It is open from 5am to 10pm daily.

When the project is finished it will go up to six kilometers and connect five barangays (Poblacion, Balangkas, Wawang Pulo, Tagalag Fishing Village, and Cologne via Valenzeual Boardwalk). The LGU is looking to finish the Riverwalk by mid-2026.

According to Gan, it's something that can totally be recreated elsewhere in the country. "The project was started by DPWH as just a simple river easement along the river as well as for flood control, but the Valenzuela LGU built on this by adding a riverwalk and landscaping," he said.

"I think that with the right initiative and sustained commitment, other LGUs can do something similar with their creeks, esteros, and rivers. Not only can efforts like this better connect neigborhoods together by walking and biking, but also to create green and open spaces for people to enjoy and develop a stronger appreciation for," he added.

World Health Organization after all has set a target of nine square meters of green per person.

As for Urieta, projects like such as these can help "avoid motorized traffic going from one point to another na malalapit lang," thereby helping improve air quality, reduce carbon emissions, encourage a more active lifestyle, and make for healthier citizens. — GMA Integrated News