Jim, Joel, Jobel, and Homer have one thing in common – they love the outdoors and prefer exploring using their bicycles.
The four members of the Daily Cycle Movement have been biking for many years now and they all have encountered at some point motorists who honk at or shout at them, demanding that they should not be on the road because they consider cyclists as obstructions to traffic.
Jim Ward, co-founder of Daily Cycle Movement, said this attitude of drivers has to change. He said many people, especially Baguio residents, would have wanted using a bicycle as an alternative mode of transportation but because of fear that they might get hit by motor vehicles, only a small size of the population use the bike.
Based on the survey mounted by the group recently, 35 out of 100 respondents answered that they ride the bike for mobility; 53 answered for exercise, and 12 said they use it for sports.
Daily Cycle Movement member Joel Tolentino said there could be more people willing to switch to the bike as an alternative transportation if motorists shared the road with them.
“Biking is not a mere sport as widely perceived. A lot of people are afraid of using the bike for mobility because our roads have not been designed to accommodate bikes,” Tolentino said.
With the city’s problem on traffic congestion plus the heightened interest to become fit, the Daily Cycle Movement revived its advocacy of “road sharing” between motorists and bikers.
Homer, a businessman, said instead of asking the government to allot bicycle lanes, they are merely asking drivers to be considerate by allowing them to also use the roads.
He said Baguio’s narrow roads, terrain, plus the costs it would entail, it is close to impossible to achieve the ideal infrastructure so that bikers could freely navigate roads.
“It is not just about providing bicycle lanes. What we want is we be allowed on our roads without aggression from motorists,” he said.
Daily Cycle Movement is also hopeful city officials will allot a parking slot for the bikes.
The group said now is the perfect time to revive their advocacy as more and more people are also becoming conscious of their health. They said cycling has many advantages – it does not occupy too much space compared to motor vehicles, it does not emit smoke, and it is a form of exercise.
Daily Cycle Movement has appealed to authorities to heighten their information campaign on road sharing, and to motorists to also respect them as road users. – Rimaliza A. Opiña
April 26, 2024
