It looks like the EDSA motorcycle lane (MC lane) will be coming back; but this time, it will be on the rightmost lane fused with the bicycle lane. This is what the new Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman, former Mandaluyong City mayor, Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos, Jr., said during a press conference shortly after taking oath as the agency’s new chairman.
During the press conference yesterday at the MMDA’s central office in Makati, the chairman laid out his plans for the agency. According to Abalos, his plans mainly focus on continuing the projects left by the late Ret. Gen. Danny Lim, which includes managing traffic, waste, flooding, and the enforcement of health and safety protocols in areas under the MMDA’s jurisdiction.
He added, however, that in order to reduce the number of motorcycle-related accidents, particularly along EDSA, he plans to relocate the MC lane to the rightmost lane, together with the bicycle lane, if the available space permits it to do so. This plan is comparable to that of Parañaque City’s MC lane.
“Kung luluwang ng husto, malay niyo may bike lane pa yan (If it will be wide enough, maybe it will have a bike lane),” Abalos said when asked about the MC lane.
The EDSA MC lane is currently located along the second lane from the center island. Back in May of last year, however, the new EDSA bus lane was moved to the leftmost lane, effectively dismantling the MC lane. Also during that same month, MMDA general manager, Jojo Garcia, said that since the new bus lane under the “new normal” will be on the left side of EDSA, the motorcycle lane (MC lane) will be temporarily moved on the right-most lane, but has never really been enforced until now.
Motorcycle riders might remember chairman Abalos during his time as mayor of Mandaluyong City. It was during his tenure that the infamous “Anti-riding-in-tandem” ordinance was enforced. City Ordinance No. 550, which was amended in 2018, aimed to prevent crimes perpetrated by criminals riding-in-tandem and also imposes hefty fines for violators.
