Senators Criticized MMDA for Charging Biker Group for Placing Plastic Bottles in Commonwealth
Several Senators criticized Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for penalizing the biker group who help to protect Manila bikers.
On Wednesday, June 3, 2020, Senators criticized the MMDA after they removed the makeshift bike lane barriers placed by group of bikers to help protect the people use bike as transportation in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon during general community quarantine (GCQ).
Sen. Francis Tolentino, former MMDA chief, reacts on the actions of MMDA “This is too harsh and severe a penalty for our cyclists, fellow travelers in the road, who only wanted to make the roads a safer place for them to travel, in the absence of an established bike lane in Commonwealth.”
Last month, Tolentino authored Senate Resolution No. 411 which urging MMDA and other government agencies to improve and expand the bike lanes in Metro Manila, as residents now shifted to biking under the ‘new normal’ amid crisis.
Meanwhile, Sen. Riza Hontiveros also slammed the MMDA, pointing that the group of bike enthusiast have to place the improvised barriers as the government servant have failed to do its job of creating bike lanes along Commonwealth Avenue.
“So pwede bang ang MMDA na ang maglagay ng bike lane protectors? Wala na ngang masakyan ang publiko, paparusahan pa natin yung mga bikers,” she said in a tweet.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, a cyclist and a triathlete, sponsored a bill in plenary that seeks to institutionalize the creation of “a network of pop-up bicycle lanes” that protects Filipinos who cycle or walk to and from work.
“Sustainable transportation is now part of the new normal, and we welcome this change in people’s mindset, but we cannot simply put cyclists and pedestrians on the road without ensuring their safety,” Cayetano said in her sponsorship speech.
“We need to be able to support them with the right infrastructure, which we sadly lack in our car-centric streets,” she said.
There will be a “permanent lane that separates these bike lanes from the road used by motor vehicles for protection,” as included on the proposal of Cayetano. “The bike lane is also separate from the pedestrian sidewalk,” she said.
The improvised bike lane, which used orange-colored plastic bottles was made by cycling advocacy group “Bikers United Marshalls” placed along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon was removed by the MMDA claiming that is very dangerous of motorist and bikers.
READ: Makeshift Bike Lane Barriers Along Commonwealth Avenue Removed by MMDA
What can you say about this article? Just feel free to leave your reactions in the comment section.
For more news and updates, follow us on Twitter:@philnews_ph Facebook:@PhilNews and; YouTube channel Philnews Ph
