SOME PEOPLE tend to come out with silly and frivolous ideas not thought of properly, more so when one’s motivation is really just to impress people.
Almost always, the people that blurt out these sorts of ideas are your usual suspects, none other than “your friendly neighborhood traditional politician.”
But that’s the norm in these islands as these politicians, once elected into public office, suddenly develop a keen sense of entitlement and “know it all” belief that they’re much better than the natives who elected them into office and pay their salaries through the taxes they contribute.
Just recently a certain Jay Treñas, a member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod or councilor of “I Am Iloilo City”, came out with that sort of idea and was published in Rappler which is some kind of entity in social media claiming to be an online news site.
Excerpts from an Aug. 17, 2019 article on Rappler:
Iloilo officials mull opening scenic River Esplanade to cyclists
The city’s famed Iloilo River Esplanade may soon be reopened to cyclists as Iloilo City councilor Jose Efraim “Jay” Treñas III eyed to pass an ordinance that will lay down rules to foster a safe shared space for both pedestrians and cyclists.
Treñas, a biking advocate, bared the plan during the launch of the international Gran Fondo New York (GFNY) Asian Championship biking tournament at the Iloilo Business Park on Thursday, Aug. 15.
He said the city council is in the process of consulting stakeholders to draft an ordinance that will set the rules and regulations for the reopening of the Esplanade to cyclists. He stressed that the campaign has the full support of Iloilo City mayor Jerry Treñas.
Bikers were allowed to traverse the park when it first opened, but safety concerns brought by the heavy foot traffic of both pedestrians and bikers prompted the city government to ban bikers from the Esplanade.
“Our problem before was how to manage the foot traffic along the Esplanade, because when its first 1.2-kilometer phase opened there were both pedestrians and bikers who would patronize the park. Cyclists, who move faster, may face the danger of running into joggers, and vice versa, said Treñas.
After reading this article, the first question that came to mind was: What were you thinking Jay, or were you thinking at all?
The very reason why the Esplanade was closed to bikers still exists and your “flash of brilliance” is an open invitation for accidents to happen.
In the first placem the Esplanade and those so-called bike lanes along the Diversion Road were designed for aesthetics and not with runners and bikers in mind.
The Rappler article said you’re a biking advocate and it never mentioned that you’re a serious competitive biker or runner so let’s assume that you’re not. Which means that you have never experienced training seriously for a bike or running competition or perhaps competed in one as a serious competitor, not as a fun biker or runner?
But then again I could be wrong, as you might have already competed in the Boston Marathon or the Tour de France.
A serious experienced biker or runner knows that running or riding a bike hard during training on uneven surface i.e. bricks is not only painful to the feet and body (because of the vibrations caused by that uneven surface) but an open invitation for serious accidents as one is liable to trip or slip because of the gaps on the uneven bricks.
And by the way, the Esplanade and the so-called bike lanes on the Diversion Road are made of red bricks.
Any serious runner or biker worth his salt knows that a flat and even surface is what’s best for training and that’s why track ovals and velodromes are flat, even surfaces. But I suppose you know that already.
Sometime ago, someone you know who seems to be a serious biker slipped and had a serious accident on the so-called bike lanes along Diversion Road; it must be due to the lovely-looking but uneven red bricks.
And we segue to allowing bikers on the Esplanade; it’s not only a silly idea but an open invitation for accidents. Picture people in bikes and people walking and jogging on a narrow one lane pathway going on different directions.
Most First World countries have separate paths or lanes for bikers and joggers i.e. The Singapore River Esplanade and Hyde Park in London.
So what will you do, put traffic lights in the Esplanade and require people on foot and on bikes just to go in one direction?
And that seems silly. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
