QC to hold bike day, road-sharing exercise on Sunday

In its effort to continue its commitment to making the city bike-friendly, the Quezon City government will hold on Sunday, May 29, another bike day and road-sharing exercise.

Participants from the city government, civic organizations and barangays will converge along Maginhawa Street near Teacher’s Village beforer dawn to commence the Quezon City Bike Day (QCBD).

The route of the QCBD stretches 14 kilometers, from Maginhawa Street to both lanes of Commonwealth Avenue.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Councilor Allan Reyes said the QCBD will coincide with the launching of Maginhawa Street food strip as a tourist destination.

“The second Quezon City Bike Day would like to highlight certain portions of the city. We chose Maginhawa, being pushed by the city to become a tourist attraction, as a main center of attraction,” Reyes said.

The QCBD was held on May 31 last year.

For the second QCBD, a portion of the said street, from cor. Magiting to cor. Masinsinan St, will be closed to traffic from 3 a.m. to 12 p.m. that day.

Karen Crisostomo from the Bicycle-Friendly Philippines said the event aims to encourage people to consider cycling as a mode of transportation. According to her, certain privileges will be given to cyclists who will participate in the event.

“We want to make this even more significant to cyclist. We have also requested from the business establishments in Maginhawa to offer discounts for the cyclists,” Crisostomo said.

Crisostomo stressed that even though the ultimate goal is to make Quezon City bike-friendly, the event also aims to address other pressing problems of the city.

“We are doing this because we believe the use of bicycle as a sustainable form of transportation. This is to show that cycling addresses issues like traffic congestion and air pollution,” she said.

Paulo Burro of Bayanihan sa Daan echoed the same statement, saying the road-sharing scheme involves a change in the mindset of how people use public spaces and roads.

“What we advocate for is walkability, bikeability and efficient public transport system. We aspire to have a community which is open in a sense that we get our equal share of the road,” Burro said.

Meanwhile, Reyes said the QC government has already taken steps to mainstream the use of bicycles.

“We are pushing for bike-related ordinances and measures so that the city could be called bikeable and walkable city,” Reyes said.

The QCBD is supported by different government groups including the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board,  Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of  Environment and Natural Resources and  Department of Public Works and Highways. —KBK, GMA News