Road closures in tomorrow's mass bike activity

CEBU, Philippines - Some roads in Cebu City will be temporarily closed off from normal traffic from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. tomorrow to allow the Earth Day Earth Ride, a mass bike riding activity in celebration of Earth Day.

The Cebu Extreme Bikers Union, Bike and Talk Friendship Club, Movement for Livable Cebu, Critical Mass Cebu and 350.Org invite cyclists and supporters to join them to raise awareness for bicycle rights, bicycle lanes and bicycle racks.

The start and finish line will be at the Plaza Independencia. Assembly time is at 7 a.m. and departure time is 7:59 a.m. It will end at 10 a.m.

The route is roughly 20 kilometers from the starting point to SM City Cebu, then to Mabolo entering IT Park. The route will also pass through JY Square Mall and straight to Gorordo Ave. to Escario St. down to Fuente Osmeña then Osmeña Blvd. then back to Plaza Independencia.

The affected roads will not be closed off for the entire duration of the event, but only when the bikers are passing through.

The cyclists will stop at the Provincial Capitol and City Hall to raise a flag with the logo of bike lanes. This flag will serve as a reminder to the government that they committed to set up infrastructures for road sharing.

Vince Cinches of 350.org said that they want people not just to be aware but translate awareness into action. He said that they want to emphasize that roads are not just for those who have cars and push for the road sharing and the setting up of bicycle lanes.

“We want our roads to be safe not only for the five percent of the population who own cars. We want it to be safe and livable for all the population,” said Marc Canton of the Movement for Livable Cebu.

The cyclists will not hurry so that no one will be left behind.

The organizers expect to have about 500 participants on folding bikes, mountain bikes and trisikads. The organizers have coordinated with the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management to manage the traffic.

The organizers encourage the biking community and their families to hold a picnic at the finishing area. They also hope that they can make this a monthly event. This event is one of the outputs of the Biker’s Summit held last April 7.

Cinches said that it will be a different bike riding event since it is not for recreation but for advocacy. Their previous activity was the Earth Hour Run where around 2,500 people joined.

“Our advocacy is not just biking for fun, for friendship but we also have the project of bike to school, bike to work (campaigns),” said Jeepabs Engracial of Bike and Talk Friendship Club.

Bike to School and Bike to Work activities aim to promote biking culture. It aims to encourage people to bike when they go to their workplace or school and save on jeepney fare.

They will also be coordinating with Department of Education and Commission on Higher Educations to identify schools in the remote areas so they can help students who have to walk kilometers to school. — /BRP (FREEMAN)