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On the pushback vs. bike lanes
I saw this short article at Planetizen that linked to another article that was the original one about cities dismantling or removing bike lanes. This is a very concerning trend in the US but something that’s also happening here. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has always been lukewarm to bike lanes (parang napipilitan lang), the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) seemed never to understand it (even during BF’s time as Chair), and many local government units that jumped on the bike lane bandwagon during the COVID-19 pandemic have reneged on their declared commitments. Currently, it seems that only cities like Quezon City and Iloilo City have sustained bike lanes development. Others have removed protected bike lanes or have not enforced vs. motor vehicles encroaching on the bike lanes.
Johnson, R. (February 18, 2025) “Cities Start to Backpedal on Bike Lanes: A Growing Crisis for Cyclists,” Momentum Mag, https://momentummag.com/cities-start-to-backpedal-on-bike-lanes-a-growing-crisis-for-cyclists/ [Last accessed: 3/2/2025]
To quote from the article:
“Bike lanes have become a culture war where those in favor are seen as “woke” or some other terrible conservative slur. But, most who use bike lanes are just regular people who want to save some money, and get the mental and health benefits to cycling to work.
Urban cyclists, bike commuters, and advocates for safer streets, have all noticed a troubling trend. What was once a symbol of progress toward sustainable transportation and safer roads for all is being reversed in multiple cities across North America.”
Will bike lanes and cyclists suffer similar setbacks here? Will the Department of Transportation (DOTr) continue to champion bike lanes? Will the agency be more aggressive and assertive of bike lanes development? Your guess is as good as mine!
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Shared lanes in Baguio City – Loakan Road
I have several drafts of articles about our recent travel to Baguio City. Those include write-ups about roads to/from and in Baguio City. Before I post about Kennon Road and Marcos Highway, I want to share some examples of shared lanes I was able to take photos of while going around the city. The following photos were taken along Loakan Road near Camp John Hay. It is the same road that takes you Baguio’s airport.
Note the use of the international standard for bicycle pavement marking. This is different from the rather odd bicycle marking in the DPWH guidelines that looks like a person on a treadmill (among other interpretations).
The signs are also not standard and somewhat small as you can probably see in the photos.
Chevron signs for the curve
Another example of a curve section
There are actually two types of signs installed along the road – both state lane sharing but with the other directing bicycles to keep right.
Two signs alternated along Loakan road. This one directs bicycles to keep right.
Signs and pavement markings are closely spaced. Perhaps the intervals are less than 5 meters for the pavement markings?
Section showing pavement markings for shared lanes
Pedestrian crossing and fenced sidewalks
While shared rights of way (sharrows) or shared lanes is not preferred where there is space for bikes, these can be implemented for 2-lane roads with adequate lane widths such as Loakan Road. It is clear from the photos that there is ample if not generous space for cyclists and motorists to share a single lane. The premise for safety here is that motorists will not be hogging the road space, being mindful of cyclists, and will move at safe speeds.
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On bike lanes contributing to safer roads
Do bike lanes make roads safer? There are obviously mixed reaction to this question especially if you look as social media. If we are level headed about this topic and look at the evidence out there, the answer is yes. But there can be caveats as we try to contextualize in the local setting. The formal studies so far are in countries where the drivers arguably more disciplined than ours here in the Philippines. Driver behavior, after all, is a major factor for road traffic safety. Here is a good article for reference in the discussions and arguments for bike lanes:
Tu, Maylin (November 5, 2024) “How Bike Lanes Slow Drivers and Save Lives,” Next City, https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/how-bike-lanes-slow-drivers-and-save-lives [Last accessed: 11/10/2024]
To quote from the article:
“Bike lanes with physical delineators (cones or bollards) were more effective than paint-only lanes at calming traffic, echoing a popular mantra for bike activists: “Paint is not protection.” (The lanes were not protected, however, because drivers could drive over the delineators.) For vehicles turning right, top speeds were reduced by 28% and average speeds by 21%. Paint-only bike lanes slowed driver speeds by up to 14% and drivers going straight slowed down by up to 8%…
The study adds that pop-up bike lanes are a cost-effective solution for studying the effects of more permanent solutions — after all, you could just borrow the traffic cones. A city could quickly implement pop-up or temporary infrastructure. Then, armed with data and community feedback, they could invest in making the changes permanent.”
The article also points to a technical paper or scientific article on the traffic calming effect of bike lanes. Here is the link to the article published in the Journal of Urban Mobility: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urbmob.2024.100071
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On whether bike lanes cause more traffic congestion
I previously share articles on whether bike lanes cause more traffic. This question has been asked so often as we have returned to the “old normal” levels of traffic and bike lanes that were put up during the pandemic have been neglected or removed in favor of motor vehicle traffic. The perception for those in-charge of traffic and transportation in local government units is that the space occupied by bike lanes take up the space demanded by motor vehicle use. Thus, the view that bike lanes cause congestion. Here is another article share in support of bike lanes:
Mortillaro, N. (October, 2024) “Do bike lanes really cause more traffic congestion? Here’s what the research says,” cbc.ca, https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/bike-lanes-impacts-1.7358319 [Last accessed: 01/11/2024]
To quote from the article:
“One would think that building more roads with more lanes for cars would reduce congestion, but research shows that’s not the case, thanks to something called induced demand. The more traffic lanes that are put in, the more it appeals to people who may not otherwise have chosen to drive, thereby putting more cars on the roads and increasing congestion.
“So for a short period of time, there might be a slightly improved [reduction], but within a year or two, or perhaps three, traffic is as bad or worse than it was before the lanes were added in the first place,” said David Beitel, data services lead at Eco-Counter, a Montreal company that collects and analyzes pedestrian and bicycle traffic data.
Conversely, if you put in more dedicated bike lanes, people tend to feel safer and demand for use increases, said Shoshanna Saxe, an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s department of civil and mineral engineering and Canada Research Chair in sustainable infrastructure.
“As soon as you build a bike lane, within a year, two years, the latent demand shows up,” she said.
Bike Share Toronto statistics show that ridership on its network of shared bikes has increased dramatically since 2015, when 665,000 bike trips were made annually. In 2023, that shot up to 5.7 million trips.”
I think many people here are already aware of the concept of induced demand. However, this is usually shrugged aside as realities in their situations (e.g., commuting options, locations of residences and workplaces, etc.) lead them to choosing private vehicles (i.e., cars and motorcycles) over public or active transport. The last paragraph there is significant though as there never was and so far a decent estimate of bike trips in any city in the Philippines. Granted that there are attempts to measure bike trips but the volumes published so far are not as reliable as we want them to be in order to be convincing decision-makers to put up more bike lanes. Of course, the convincing part is always challenging if decision-makers have already made up their minds in favor of the car.
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SPRINT principles for bicycles
Here is the link to how to improve your city’s or municipality’s bicycle facilities based on scores guided by the SPRINT principles: https://cityratings.peopleforbikes.org/create-great-places
SPRINT stands for:
S -Safe Speeds
P-Protected Bike Lanes
R-Reallocated Space
I-Intersection Treatments
N-Network Connections
T-Trusted Data
The site provides links and examples of good practices of actual bike projects in the US. Many of these can be replicated or adapted to Philippine conditions. These are something that the active transport section of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) should look into and perhaps provide a reference for developing and improving bicycle facilities in the country.
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On a ‘tipping point’ for bikeability in cities
Here’s a nice article on bikeability and pertains to cities in the United States that developed bikeways or bike lanes during the pandemic. Like many cities that have ‘discovered’ cycling as a viable mode of transport particularly for commuting during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is postulated that there would be a threshold when people would switch to cycling and/or demand for more cycling facilities.
Wilson, K. (June 25, 2024) “Has Your City Passed the ‘Bikeability Tipping Point’?,” StreetsBlog USA, https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/06/25/has-your-city-passed-the-bikeability-tipping-point [Last accessed: 7/2/2024]
To quote from the article:
“A whopping 183 American communities achieved a score of 50 or higher on PeopleForBikes annual City Ratings this year, up from just 33 in 2019. The means 183 communities have scored at least half of the available points on the group’s signature “SPRINT” rubric that includes such measures as protected bike lanes, safe intersection treatments, and reduced speed limits that are unlikely to kill a cyclist in the event of a crash, among other factors.
And when a city clears that 50-point threshold, the authors of the ratings say that its local bike culture has firmly taken root — and that every new roadway improvement will inspire more improvements, rather than a fierce fight against a car-dominated status quo.
“Once you’ve hit 50, your city probably has a pretty good low-stress bike network,” said Martina Haggerty, the senior director of local innovation at PeopleForBikes. “[That’s] not to say that there aren’t still improvements to be made [but it] probably means that more people are riding bikes in those communities because they feel safe and comfortable. And when more people start riding bikes, those people tend to become advocates for better bike infrastructure and for pro-bike policies, which, [in turn,] will get more people riding.”
There are many links found in the article itself that are “click worthy”. I recommend the reader to explore the rubric from PeopleForBikes and see for yourself how this can be adopted for your city. Is such a rubric applicable to the Philippines? Perhaps, but there would be a need to assess the the situation in each city or municipality. So far, there have been mixed reviews among cities, especially those that appeared to have been more progressive and were more aggressive than others in putting up bicycle facilities including bike lanes. Perhaps the rubric can be applied to see how our LGUs measure up?
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On the impact of bike lanes on motor vehicle traffic
With the news that bike lanes will be removed along major roads including, most recently, I share some findings from the US about a decrease in traffic speeds when there are protected bike lanes. The decrease in speeds are associated with a reduction in road crashes, ergo safer streets.
McPherson, K. (June 3, 2024) “Traffic Speeds Decrease When Bike Lane is Present,” Rutgers.edu, https://www.rutgers.edu/news/traffic-speeds-decrease-when-bike-lane-present [Last accessed: 6/8/2024]
To quote from the article:
“They found that the presence of the delineated bike lane made a difference: a 28 percent reduction in average maximum speeds and a 21 percent decrease in average speeds for vehicles turning right. For those heading straight and not turning, a smaller speed reduction of 8 percent was observed. In addition, drivers moving at a perpendicular angle to the bike lane did not slow down.
Marking the bike lanes with cones as a clearly delineated space was more effective at reducing speed than a painted-only bike lane. The painted-only bike lane was associated with a smaller speed reduction of between 11 percent and 15 percent, but only for drivers turning right.
Younes hypothesized that drivers slow down when they see a bike lane marked with the cones because the driving lane is narrower and requires more concentration, and it’s easier to notice cones or planters or some other space delineator than it is to spot painted lines on the road surface.”
Of course, one major element that was probably not considered in their studies is the presence and behavior of motorcycle riders. Motorcycles here frequently enter and use bike lanes whether protected or not. Often they crowd out bicycle users leading to situations where riders of motorized and non-motorized 2-wheelers come into conflict. Still, it would be nice to have a study to determine not just whether there are similar outcomes here but to what extent as well as how motorcycles figure in the study.
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More than just painted lines – good practice examples of bike lanes
I’m sharing this article on the best bike lanes in the United States:
Holbrook, A. (February 12, 2024) “The 5 Principles That Make America’s Best Bike Lanes: A Lot More Than Painted Lines,” Velo, https://velo.outsideonline.com/urban/urban-gear/five-principles-the-best-bike-lanes/ [Last accessed: 2/15/2024]
This is a follow-up on an article on the best new bike lanes or bikeways that I shared earlier. This article features an interview of the author of the previous article about what features distinguish these bike lanes over others that have been implemented. Definitely, bike lanes should be designed beyond the usually painted lines that offer little protection to cyclists.
Here are examples of bike lanes in the Philippines:
Painted bike lanes along Ortigas Avenue Extension, Cainta, Rizal
Protected bike lane along Katipunan Avenue (C-5), Quezon City
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On bike lanes network development – examples in the US
I am sharing this article on the best new bike lanes in the United States:
Haggerty, M. (January 12, 2024) “The Best New U.S. Bike Lanes of 2023,” People for Bikes, https://www.peopleforbikes.org/news/the-best-new-u.s.-bike-lanes-of-2023 [Last accessed: 1/23/2024]
Quoting from the article:
“Even for the most ardent naysayers, it’s difficult to deny that the landscape of bicycling in America is transforming (although not as quickly as many of us would like to see). While we have yet to see any U.S. cities emerge with truly bold citywide plans for bike networks as we’ve seen in places like London, Paris, and Bogota, many are (slowly) beginning to envision a future where cycling takes center stage. Although there remains a substantial amount of work ahead of us to cultivate a safe and comfortable environment for people of all ages and abilities to ride bikes in the U.S., it’s well worth pausing to commemorate the significant infrastructure victories U.S. cities achieved in 2023.”
The quote above also applies to us in the Philippines where there are still few examples of safe and comfortable bike lanes. I shared the same article on my social media page asking aloud if there’s something like this in the Philippines. I am aware of the Mobility Awards but that’s supposed to cover everything on mobility and particularly walking and cycling. The list is about bike lanes and touches on the various designs (note that in the US, while there are federal guidelines, most if not all states and cities would have their own that they use for planning and design of bicycle facilities). It would be nice to have our cities develop guidelines while also referring to the minimum standards in the DPWH Guidelines. Of course, the challenge is to come up with good if not the best designs and not just comply with the minimum.
If there was an award for best new bike lanes in 2023, I think Quezon City will have several nominees and even win the award with one. Picture above is the bike lane along Katipunan Avenue/C5.
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Solar road studs for Ortigas Avenue Extension bike lanes
The bike lanes along Ortigas Avenue Extension now have solar road studs for these to be more visible at night time or when it is dark. Following are photos of the bike lanes at night.
While the studs enhance the visibility of the bike lanes and perhaps also the safety of cyclists, the latter is not assured. The bike lanes are not protected and physical barriers like those installed along Quezon City roads are most effective in ensuring the safety of cyclists against motor vehicles. The solar studs do not deter motor vehicle drivers from encroaching on the bike lanes so they appear to have minimal impacts on safety.
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Caught (up) in traffic 