The Makati Central Estate Association, Inc. (MACEA) has recently announced that it will defer the conversion of the bicycle lanes along Ayala Avenue to sharrows until March 6, 2023. This is after the backlash it received from various groups, particularly, active transport users.
“The Biking Community is an important part of the commuters we serve and we value their sentiments. We have noted all constructive comments regarding the conversion of Ayala Avenue bike lanes, particularly those that are related to safety,” said MACEA through their official social media page.
Sharrows – or shared lane marking (share + arrow), is an internationally-recognized lane marking that means motorists and cyclists (and other active transport users) can share the same lane in a particular roadway.
On Friday, February 10, 2023, MACEA announced that starting today, February 15, the bicycle lanes along the stretch of Ayala Avenue will be changed to sharrows to accommodate both bikers along with the increasing number of commuters riding Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) and help improve traffic flow in the city.
“This initiative is being done to better serve the commuting public and in preparation for the provision of more and bigger transit sheds along Ayala Avenue. We remain cognizant of everyone’s needs, especially the biking community, and this is why the city is implementing an organized way of accommodating more commuters through sharrows,” said MACEA in an earlier statement.
MACEA says that they will defer the conversion until March 6 to “enhance measures to further protect bikers” and to give them ample time to implement these enhancements.
