BY GLENDA TAYONA AND TED ALDWIN ONG
Anyone who has ever tried to make their way through the bustling metropolis of Iloilo knows it: the city is owned by cyclists. They hurry in swarms through the streets, rendering motorists “powerless” by their sheer numbers. Bicycles pretty much rule the roads here.
The Ilonggos’ fascination for biking can be traced way back before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, the city has been organizing its annual bike festival since 2013. In 2018, Iloilo City was recognized as a “Bike-Friendly City.”
Due to difficulties on public transportation caused by the health crisis, Ilonggos rekindled and strengthened their love for biking, not only as a safer way of commute but also as an enjoyable hobby that gradually transformed into a lifestyle.
Panay News took a closer look at why Iloilo City is named as the “Bike Capital of the Philippines”
- PROTECTED BIKE LANES
The southern city does not only takes pride in its picturesque “integrated-elevated-dedicated bike lane” along Sen. Benigno Aquino Sr. Avenue (also called Diversion Road). The metropolitan also boasts a host of additional bike lanes that created a bike network across the city.
The 12-kilometer bike lane which runs from Barangay Sambag in Jaro up to the corner of Diversion Road in front of UP Visayas has expanded by another eight kilometers with the University Loop.
It did not end there though after the Iloilo City government embarked on a bike lane linkage project to connect three major bike lane networks – Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue, the University Loop, and the 12-km bikeable section of Iloilo River Esplanade. It was completed in August 2020 while the rest of the country was reeling from surgical lockdowns.
By September 2020, it again expanded bike lanes this time connecting all the plazas and parks across the city from Plaza Libertad, the Sunburst Park, down to the district plazas of La Paz, Jaro, Mandurriao, Molo, and Villa Arevalo.
The city has also “Instagrammable” stopovers with over 50 bike racks that were painted by 50 Ilonggo artists now scattered around the city which serves a dual function – bike parking and an art exhibit.
Not only that, murals that paid tribute to health workers and frontliners were added to the city’s 28 public murals, most of which are situated along the bike routes and done by artists-bikers.
“In Iloilo City, we have a local government who supports infrastructure for the development of our bikers and these are backed by regulations and policy enforcement to ensure the safety of the biking community,” conveyed Jeck Conlu, who is a bikers and who heads the Iloilo City Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO).
- RECOGNITIONS
Iloilo City received commendations from the Dutch Ambassador H.E. Saskia Elisabeth De Langsaw during her visit in 2019. She mentioned the city possesses the potential to become the “Biking Haven of the Philippines”, provided that proper urban biking infrastructures and continuous support from the local government and its people.
Iloilo City was also proclaimed as the country’s “Most Bike-Friendly City” during the PhilBike Expo in 2018. This was held at the World Trade Center Manila. This was made possible by the efforts of the local government, and of course by the driven Ilonggo cyclists.
- PICTURESQUE SCENE
If one aims to see a mix of rural and slowly-developing commercial and real estate landscape, then pedaling the 14-kilometer Corazon C. Aquino Avenue (Circumferential Road) will give you a majestic panorama.
“The bike lane in this area will soon receive a facelift from the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),” mentioned Engr. Al Fruto, Asst. Regional Director of DPWH-VI, one afternoon over a cup of coffee.
In addition, a biker from UP Visayas will soon be able to ride the “16.2-kilometer distance going all the way to the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo and back through a bike lane that will be integrated on road improvement projects,” added Engineer Fruto.
Moreover, a new bikeway is on the works – the Iloilo to Oton bikeway through the Iloilo River. It will soon become a “bikeable” route because it is integrated in the P803-million Iloilo River Northbank project and which will be named the Iloilo Sunset Boulevard.
The infrastructure will have a four-lane road starting from the end of the current Iloilo River Esplanade 1 and 2 in Molo to Barangay Cagbang, Oton or a total 5.5-kilometers.
All of these initial developments put Iloilo City as a leader in the bike tourism map of the country and which invited interest from people and dignitaries here and abroad. “The tremendous effort of the current administration to establish Iloilo as a center of healthy lifestyle together with the support of the private sector, and the collaboration of the Ilonggos made Iloilo City a trailblazer in biking and it made us as the Bike Capital of the Philippines,” said Junel Ann Divinagracia of the City Tourism Office./PN
“In Iloilo City, we have a local government who supports infrastructure for the development of our bikers and these are backed by regulations and policy enforcement to ensure the safety of the biking community.”
