{"id":256703,"date":"2020-05-31T08:09:49","date_gmt":"2020-05-31T12:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=256703"},"modified":"2020-05-31T08:09:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-31T12:09:49","slug":"dilg-urges-lgus-to-establish-bike-lanes-motor-taxis-still-banned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/05\/31\/dilg-urges-lgus-to-establish-bike-lanes-motor-taxis-still-banned\/","title":{"rendered":"DILG urges LGUs to establish bike lanes; motor taxis still banned"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
In an advisory, DILG Secretary Eduardo M. A\u00f1o directed provincial governors, city and municipal mayors to coordinate with neighboring LGUs to connect bicycle lanes and establish a bicycle road network. (File Photo: Andrew Gook\/Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 As the country transitions to a new normal, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is urging all local government units (LGUs) to establish bicycle lanes in all local roads to support those who will bike to their work destinations due to the reduced capacity of public transportation under the general community quarantine (GCQ).<\/p>\n

In an advisory, DILG Secretary Eduardo M. A\u00f1o directed provincial governors, city and municipal mayors to coordinate with neighboring LGUs to connect bicycle lanes and establish a bicycle road network.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of limited mass transportation, most people will resort to biking as a means of going to and from work. LGUs, therefore, have to be ready with the bike lanes in their areas to ensure the safety of the cyclists,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A\u00f1o said local governments must also ensure that all bicycle lanes are free from any obstruction to prevent any untoward road accidents.<\/p>\n

\u201cSiguraduhin po nating walang nakahambalang sa mga dadaanan ng bisikleta sa inyong lugar para iwas-disgrasya at para maging mabilis ang biyahe ng mga siklista<\/em>\u00a0(Make sure bike lanes have no any obstruction to prevent accident and it will not hamper the cyclists),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said bicycles as a mode of transportation is encouraged by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).<\/p>\n

\u201cAs per the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine issued by the IATF, the use of bicycles and other non-motorized forms of transportation is strongly encouraged,\u201d he said. \u201cIn this new normal, we want to enjoin everyone to use bikes. Good for the health\u00a0ang<\/em>\u00a0bike,\u00a0at tsaka, matipid pa. Hindi mo na kailangang bumili ng<\/em>\u00a0gasoline (Bikes are good for the health, economical, and you don\u2019t need to buy gasoline),\u201d A\u00f1o said.<\/p>\n

He said LGUs must also enact ordinances to impose reasonable penalties on violations in the use of the bike lanes to ensure that both motorists and cyclists follow the regulations along the said lanes.<\/p>\n

According to him, LGUs should follow the Department of Transportation (DOTr\u2019s) design approach of putting up plastic bollards, stencil markings and signage in the designated bike lanes for the safety of the bicycling public especially in major thoroughfares where fast-moving buses and other huge vehicles are passing through the same road.<\/p>\n

He also reminded LGUs to strictly implement health and safety protocols including the mandatory wearing of face masks of the persons using said lanes and in all public areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cSOP\u00a0na dapat ang pagsusuot ng<\/em>\u00a0mask\u00a0at<\/em>\u00a0physical distancing\u00a0sa mga pampublikong lugar. Masanay na tayo sa ganitong sitwasyon habang wala pang gamot at<\/em>\u00a0vaccine\u00a0laban sa<\/em>\u00a0Covid-19 (Wearing of mask and physical distancing in public places should be standard operating procedure. We will get used to it while waiting for vaccine against Covid-19),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Motor taxis still prohibited<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said motor taxis hailed through motorcycle ride-sharing apps such as Angkas are still not allowed during GCQ and modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) under current IATF guidelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlam po namin na marami pong umaasa sa Angkas at iba pang<\/em>\u00a0motor taxis\u00a0para makarating sa kanilang trabaho at destinasyon ngunit dahil sa patuloy na banta ng<\/em>\u00a0Covid-19, hindi pa rin pinahihintulutan ng gobyerno ang ganitong mode of transportation dahil sa violation ng physical distancing,\u201d said Malaya.<\/p>\n

The DILG, through Memorandum Circular 2020-083, directed all LGUs to strictly prohibit the operation of motor taxis as part of the regulatory measures in public transportation in areas under the MECQ and GCQ.<\/p>\n

Malaya also said motorcycle back ride is prohibited even for married couples as part of the physical distancing measures as this allows prolonged close contact between two people and will lead to possible transmission of Covid-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we understand the request of many of our\u00a0kababayan<\/em>\u00a0(countrymen), back ride is a clear violation of physical distancing and it will be impossible for the police and our traffic enforcers to check each and every motorcycle if these are married couples. If we grant one exemption, it will open the floodgates to violations by those who are not allowed. The health risks outweigh the benefits,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Among the alternative modes of transportation suggested by the DOTr during the post-pandemic period are the use of bikes and modernized PUVs (public utility vehicles) as these have less contact with other people and lessens the risk of spreading the virus among passengers.\u00a0(DILG-PR)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 As the country transitions to a new normal, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is urging …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":256018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-256703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-dilg","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256703"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256705,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256703\/revisions\/256705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}