Mandaue ranked 2nd most bike-friendly city nationwide

CEBU, Philippines —  Mandaue City has bagged the silver award for the most bicycle-friendly city in the Philippines during the recent inaugural launch of the Mobility Awards 2021.

Mayor Jonas Cortes said the award “is a validation of our efforts and motivation to continue our vision to be a sustainable and resilient Mandaue.”

From the 30 cities nominated nationwide, Mandaue ranked second and will receive a Silver Bicycle Friendly Recognition sign, a certificate indicating the city’s ranking, and gift certificates worth P8,000 from bike-friendly establishments.

Cortes thanked the organizers for recognizing the city’s efforts in ensuring the safety of bicycle riders. According to him, it has been the advocacy of the city government to become a sustainable city and the dream of establishing a bike network has been a longtime dream.

“This is something we decided early on as one of the ways for us to lower our carbon emissions. In fact, establishing a bike network has been identified as one of the key strategic initiatives of Mandaue,” he said.

Cortes admitted that building a bike network was not easy for the city government, especially during the pre-pandemic.

“We have had several tries but there was a resistance. Then the pandemic happens. Cars were no longer allowed and bicycles became the more practical way of moving around. Not only that, it was a way for Mandauehanons to get some bit of exercise instead of being stuck at home,” he said.

The mayor added that more and more people embraced cycling giving them the opportunity to re-introduce biking network. This time around, Mandauehanons welcomed the initiative.

“This was our pandemic silver lining. With the protected bike lanes in place, we install different bike lane infrastructure like bike racks and bike repair stations in strategic locations across the city,” he added.

Lawyer John Eddu Ibañez, head of the Public Information Office, said the city government set up bike repair stations in Barangay Jagobiao, near Mandaue City Hall, Pacific Mall and Parkmall and another bike repair station in Oakridge to assist bikers.

The PIO in their Facebook post said these bicycle repair stations can be used by bikers for free anytime of the day when they need to repair their bikes or if they have a flat tire.

The bicycle repair stations are equipped with hand pump and some tools needed for basic bike repairs.   It can be recalled that top officials of the Department Transportation inaugurated on July 16, 2021, the 129.66 kilometers Metro Cebu Bike Lane Network.

Of the total Cebu bike lane network, Cebu City has the longest bike lane length at 51.60 kilometers, followed by Lapu-Lapu City at 39.22 kilometers, Mandaue City at 20.31 kilometers, and Talisay City at 18.52 kilometers.

Completed on June 30, 2021, the bike lane network features white and green pavement markings, signages, bollards, bike symbols, and concrete delineators to keep bike riders safe. The network also has solar studs, and bike racks for the convenience of bikers. — FPL (FREEMAN)