Students push for bike lanes

CEBU, Philippines - In support of the government’s plan to have bike lanes in Cebu city, a group of volunteer biking students met with city officials.

Tindak Sugbo, an organization of biking enthusiasts and road-sharing advocates, made a presentation in front of key city officials with the aim of providing bike lanes in the Queen City of the South.

Various groups support Tindak Sugbo, like the Movement for a Livable Cebu, Critical Mass Cebu, and other biking groups.

 Among the City Hall officials that listened to the brief but comprehensive presentation were Committee on Environment chairman Nida Cabrera and City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) executive director Atty. Rafael Yap.

The presentation started with the line “Tindak Padulong sa Haruhay, Malungtaron ug Maangayon nga Sugbo” (Pedaling towards a livable Cebu) where biological, psychological and environmental effects of biking were discussed.

 The group stressed that it’s about time Cebu city bikers be given the much deserved bike lane, away from dangers of getting hurt by motor vehicles.

Several experimental bike runs were conducted by the group to determine the key areas conducive for biking. To make the activity exciting, they follow a theme for every Saturday morning that they bike around the city.

These include “Suroy sa Sementeryo” (tour around cemeteries), “Suroy sa Serbisyong Pampubliko” (tour of government offices), “Suroy sa Eskwelahan” (tour of schools), Suroy sa Kabiling Publiko (public spaces and buildings), Suroy sa Kakanin (tour of native food), among others.

This has been ongoing since April of this year and has drawn support from students and even professionals. The city government is currently working on getting financial and technical support from Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) for the bike lane feasibility study.  (FREEMAN)