Recently, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority held a public consultation with the motorcycle riding community to discuss the initial effects of the no-contact apprehension program. Key among those first results were increased travel speeds on Commonwealth Avenue—the graphics from the MMDA showed that vehicles may be traveling 18% faster since NCAP was reinstated.
To further optimize the flow of traffic on Commonwealth Ave., the MMDA then floated the idea of reducing the five-meter-wide bicycle lane by half, to give motorcycles more driving space on the thoroughfare. According to the MMDA, slicing the bicycle lane by 2.5m would give motorcycles two more lanes to ride in.
Since the dialogue, the MMDA has announced that this idea is still being studied, and that a separate consultation with cycling groups is currently in the works.
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As expected, this idea has garnered several mixed reactions on social media. While some have stated that this will quickly help accommodate the great number of motorcycles on Commonwealth Avenue, others have stressed that this idea deprioritizes the needs of cyclists.
Shortly after NCAP started, the MMDA had already attempted to generally thin out motorcycle lanes by allowing bikes with 400cc engines or higher to use private-vehicle lanes. Though it looks like that wasn’t enough to substantially decongest the motorcycle lane, especially on Commonwealth Ave.
