So we’re back again on this controversial Motorcycle (MC) Lane topic, this time, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has put up a two-day “Motorcycle Consultation Workshop” with guests from the different agencies and stakeholders from the government and private sectors consisting of bus operators, jeepney operators, and motorcycle groups as well as academe.
While the workshop, according to the MMDA, aims to have a consensus and action plan to further improve traffic management along major thoroughfares in Metro Manila, it has also discussed the big possibility of putting up an “exclusive” MC Lane along the stretch of Commonwealth AVE in Quezon City. The said thoroughfare will also serve as the pilot testing of such MC Lane should the project pushes through in November of this year.
MMDA Acting Chairman, Carlo Dimayuga III, said that the vehicular volume in EDSA has exceeded pre-pandemic levels as restrictions continue to ease and registered vehicles in Metro Manila continue to increase to 2.9 million last 2021, based on the data from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO). Of the 2.9 million, 1.44 million are motorcycles.
“Based on our data, the daily average number of vehicles plying EDSA is now at 410,000 and has surpassed the 405,000 pre-pandemic mark because of a number of road activities and face-to-face classes reopening,” Dimayuga said.
“With this number, we're planning to put an exclusive motorcycle lane along Commonwealth Avenue to put the vehicles in order and as part of road safety for the motorcycle-riding public,” he added.
Maintain order and discipline on the roads
For MMDA’s General Manager, Baltazar Melgar, the 2-day consultation workshop is hoped to produce knowledge-sharing among stakeholders, as well as discussion of concrete policy directions and guidelines for motorcycles and other public utility vehicles.
“We, at MMDA, see ourselves as your partners on the road. We want to ensure your safety by providing good and quality infrastructure, as well as to maintain order and discipline on the roads by enforcing the proper rules and regulations. Let us make the roads of the Metropolis safe,” said Melgar during the workshop.
1-Rider Party List supports MC Lane
Also present during the workshop are 1-Rider Party List representatives Bonifacio Bosita and Rodge Gutierrez, who both expressed their support for the MMDA’s initiatives specific to motorcycle riders.
“We are one with the MMDA in this kind of initiatives which recognize motorcycle riders as the most exposed and at-risk sector on the roads, right now,” the legislators said.
