Senate approves bill seeking to establish bicycle lanes, walkways, slow streets

The Senate on Tuesday approved a bill which seeks to provide safe and convenient pathways for pedestrians, bikers, and non-motorized vehicles.

Senate Bill No. 1290, also known as the "Walkable and Bikeable Communities Act," was passed by the chamber on third and final reading with 21 affirmative votes, no abstention, and zero negative vote.

The bill was sponsored and authored by Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairperson of the Committee on the Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation, and Futures Thinking. Other principal authors include Senators Grace Poe, Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito, Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Sonny Angara, Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, and Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda.

Cayetano said that more Filipinos had taken to cycling, especially after lockdowns were imposed on public transportation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, she said, bike lane networks were set up nationwide to facilitate active mobility, and these facilities continue to be expanded as the economy has opened up.

She said providing a safe pathways network of bicycle lanes, walkways and slow streets in the country would result in reduced carbon emission and help ease road congestion. It would also provide multiple health benefits to the public, she said.

Cayetano had been advocating for a shift to active and sustainable transportation even before the pandemic.

She cited a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey which showed that one in four households in the Philippines owns a bicycle. According to the survey, the number of households with bicycles in urban areas and in the National Capital Region more than doubled since 2021, indicating strong demand for active transport. This translates to 7.3 million households owning a bicycle as of April 2022, as compared to 6.2 million households in May 2021.

Active transport refers to physical activity undertaken as a means of transport, such as walking or cycling and the use of other non-motorized vehicles.

The same SWS survey showed that 80 percent of Filipinos believe that better roads would encourage more people to use a bike.

Cayetano said several cities in Metro Manila, as well as in other parts of the country such as Iloilo City, have established their own networks of bicycle lanes.

She explained the 'Safe Pathways Network' as a network of bicycle lanes for the use of bikes and walkways for the use of pedestrians, including the use of strollers and other children's mobility equipment.

On the other hand, 'slow streets' refer to local roads providing safe and convenient access and use by restricting motor vehicle access, use or speed limits on certain days or hours in the day or any combination of such measures as may be determined by the local government unit (LGU).

Once passed into law, both the public and private sectors shall promote active transport as a sustainable and healthy means of transportation and develop the Safe Pathways Network by setting up the necessary infrastructure facilities and programs such as multi-use racks and other end-of-trip facilities.