BIKE LANE MASTERPLAN. A biker pedals through the Plaza Sugbu in front of the Cebu City Hall. Architect Anne Marie Cuizon, Cebu City Planning Office assistant head, said on Friday (July 31, 2020) the city's urban planners are now polishing the “Tricities Bike Network” masterplan for its eventual implementation amid the Covid-19 era. (Photo courtesy of Tony Galon)
CEBU CITY – Urban planners from the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu are now finalizing an integrated masterplan for the proposed bicycle network that will traverse across the three cities.
Architect Anne Marie Cuizon, assistant head at the Cebu City Planning Office, said on Friday they are now polishing the “Tricities Bike Network” masterplan for its eventual implementation amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) era.
The project, now a work in progress, will soon be endorsed for approval from the Cebu City Council.
She said Cebu City has to align its bike lanes network with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system which will soon start construction for the project to become sustainable.
While the project was borne out of public calls to establish other transport modes during the community quarantine when public transport has been halted, Cuizon said it has to be integrated into the city’s long-term urban plan.
“One of the reasons why it took us some time because we had to re-study the BRT,” Cuizon said in a virtual press briefing here.
She said Cebu needs “to create a plan that will align with the BRT to make it a long-term and sustainable project. Our bike lanes or markings on the road should exist for the long-term”.
Urban planners from the three cities are now making necessary corrections on the masterplan after they gathered inputs from environmental planners in a meeting last Tuesday, she said.
Based on the plan for Cebu City, the bike lanes will exist on roads that are not part of the BRT system.
The bike lanes of the three cities will soon be integrated to allow two-wheel mobility within these metropolitan areas.
For the Cebu City’s phase one, the bike network will cover the areas of Labangon, Banawa, Guadalupe, V. Rama, Fuente Osmeña, Mango Avenue, Cebu Business Park, Mabolo, Imus, M.J. Cuenco and downtown area.
The network will then be extended to Lahug, Talamban, N. Bacalso, and South Road Properties for the next phase.
“Our main point of having this project is for bikers to have a fair share in our roads and they will be protected,” Cuizon said. “It will also help Cebu City become sustainable.”
Dedicated bike lanes are also expected to improve mobility and offer another transport option for residents and tourists alike to go around the city and neighboring places. (PNA)
