Pasig City motorists who regularly drive along Julia Vargas Avenue will have some adjusting to do soon, as mayor Vico Sotto has announced changes to the thoroughfare’s layout.
Sotto announced via Twitter that the city government is changing the lane configuration of the thoroughfare to include a motorcycle lane and a dedicated bicycle lane, both measuring 1.5 meters wide each. The latter will also be separated from the rest of road users by plant boxes and will be painted blue, too. Look:
In order to make these adjustments, Julia Vargas Avenue will only have two car lanes. Sotto said that while he expects motorists to complain and request for the old format to return, this new format will actually be better for the thoroughfare in terms of carrying capacity. He also stressed that this change will make the thoroughfare safer and promote alternative forms of mobility, too.
This is good news as the Ortigas area is relatively popular among bicycle riders. Providing them, as well as other users of alternative forms of mobility, with dedicated lanes is a welcome step toward rolling out a more inclusive Metro Manila-wide road system. Would you like to see other areas adopt this road format?
