The establishment of biking lanes in La Trinidad, Benguet is being revisited after groups of bikers clamored anew for its designation in the capital town.
Mayor Romeo Salda said talks are underway with the traffic management task force about the designation of bike lanes, as there was a noted increase in the number of bikers during the pandemic.
In its recent meeting, the traffic task force was not amenable to having bike lanes from Km. 3 to Barangay Poblacion because the busy road is narrow.
The alternative would be the provincial roads along Pico-Buyagan and other interior roads.
“There was a proposal from a biker that there should be a three-meter lane designated exclusively for bike lanes but it would affect the existing four lanes going to Baguio. We would consider the less busy interior roads,” Salda said.
The mayor added they would also source out funds for the designation of the bike lanes.
Councilor Guiller Galwan, who authored in 2018 an ordinance for the designation of shared bike lanes, said the call of the bikers for the designation of bike lanes or safe zones along the major thoroughfares in the town will be further discussed with the biking community.
“There are still a lot of concerns. The proposal of the bikers is the designation of bike lanes, but in our ordinance, it is a shared bike lane,” he said.
The ordinance was passed two years ago, but the municipal government is yet to identify its shared bike lanes.
Galwan, also a biking enthusiast, earlier said road sharing is important and that motorists should learn to share the road with bikers.
“Since our roads are narrow, what we will do is a courtesy lane for motorists, a shared lane. If a biker goes through the bike lane, huwag naman sana nilang sagasaan,” Galwan said. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 18, 2024
