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On understanding road diets
I’ve written and shared articles on road diets and complete streets before. Here is another article share on road diets
Johnson, R. (April 21, 2025) “Explainer: What is a Road Diet – And Why Should Cities Embrace It?,” Momentum Magazine, https://momentummag.com/explainer-what-is-a-road-diet-and-why-should-cities-embrace-it/ [Last accessed: 22/04/2025]
To quote from the article:
“The road diet isn’t about punishing drivers. It’s about creating streets that work better for everyone—from the parent pushing a stroller to the teenager biking to school, the delivery driver navigating a tight urban corridor, or the senior walking to the store.
As our cities continue to evolve, road diets offer a cost-effective, data-backed, and scalable way to make them safer, cleaner, and more livable. It’s not just about losing a lane—it’s about gaining a better future for urban mobility.”
Indeed, the first thing that usually comes to mind of motorists whenever road diets and complete streets are mentioned is that the road space (and consequently capacity) will be reduced. This reduction of capacity is actually from the perspective of the motor vehicle rather than the number of people traveling along a road as well as improving road safety for all. The article is spot on in its discussion on the resistance to road diets (and complete streets). Of course, context is very important here and it is important to identify which roads can be transformed for the transformation to be most effective.
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A widened Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue and opportunities for complete streets
Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue is one of the major roads directly connecting EDSA (C-4) and C.P. Garcia Avenue (C-5). The last time I used the road was before the pandemic. So it came as a surprise to pass by last weekend and see the avenue had been widened. I guess that pretty much “solved” the traffic along this usually busy thoroughfare that is part of jeepney routes to Cubao (via Murphy – referring to Camp Aguinaldo, which was formerly Camp Murphy). The avenue was renamed after a Korean War Hero (my uncle fought under him with the 10th Battalion Combat Team in the Korean War in the 1950s). It was called Santolan Road before.
What used to be a 4-lane road is now an 8-lane road
The area used for road widening was carved out of Camp Aguinaldo. The headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) gave up quite a lot of square meters for this project and you can see from the photo the now very wide avenue. I thought perhaps they could have placed a median island where they could have also planted some trees (note how exposed to the sun the area is). They also could have designed protected bike lanes along either side of the road. These could have connected the EDSA and C5 bike lanes. And, of course, they should have also improved the pedestrian sidewalks. You can see how narrow the sidewalks are and how electric and light posts block pedestrians using the sidewalks. There were opportunities here for the application of complete streets and its not too late to do just that.
I assume there are many men in uniform who use bicycles for their commutes and recreation. Camp Crame is just across EDSA from Camp Aguinaldo and Bonny Serrano Avenue also passes along the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP). Down the road towards Marikina City in Libis is another camp, Camp Atienza, which is home to the 51st Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army. I mention these camps as I know many there regularly use Bonny Serrano for commuting and many use bicycles. A cousin-in-law (my wife’s first cousin) who is an army officer bikes a lot from Camp Atienza and Camp Aguinaldo and tells me there are many enlisted men who bike to work.
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Caught (up) in traffic 