Will this make it safer for motorcyclists plying the major highway?

As part of the Road Diet plan, which plans to reduce the current width of lanes along EDSA, MMDA General Manager, Jojo Garcia, said yesterday that the agency is looking at the possibility of making one lane exclusive to motorcycles only. This lane will be positioned beside the yellow lane for public utility vehicles. GM Garcia also mentioned that mayors and city administrators already approved the drafting of a resolution to study the viability of the road diet plan during a recent meeting with the Metro Manila Council (MMC). The traffic head also assured the public that a technical working group will be created and the MMDA will also invite all stakeholders to “know their take on the road diet plan.” If the Road Diet Plan pushes through, the first two lanes from the shoulder will be exclusive to public utility vehicles, one lane will be for motorcycles and the remaining lanes will be for private vehicles.

So far, the MMDA has strongly encouraged motorcycles to stay within motorycle lanes on major thoroughfares. However, the motorcycle lane itself was not made exclusive, allowing cars to enter at will, with little discouragement. This has resulted in motorcycles being pushed to the sides of the lanes and still having to contend with larger vehicles for space. Several motorcycle groups have cited this ruling as unsafe, particularly for motorcycles that have to avoid vehicles the criss-cross the lanes at will.