Road-sharing campaign comes to ‘killer highway’ this Sunday

Citing the success of the “Bayanihan sa Daan” road-sharing event held on Roxas Boulevard last month, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will do a repeat on Sunday, this time on Commonwealth Avenue.

The agency on Thursday said the March 6 activity would cover the northbound lanes of Commonwealth, from Philcoa to Sandiganbayan in Quezon City.

Aimed at promoting a traffic scheme that allows more space for runners, bikers and riders of public transport while reducing dependence on private vehicles, the activity will be from 6 a.m. to noon.

Commonwealth is considered the widest road in the country today, with some sections spanning a total of 18 lanes.

In recent years, however, it has earned notoriety as “the killer highway” due to the rising number of fatal road accidents. This prompted the MMDA in 2013 to start imposing a 60-kph speed limit on the thoroughfare.

MMDA Chair Emerson Carlos said the northbound lanes on Sunday will be divided as follows: For private cars (1st to 3rd lane from the median or “center island”), for motorcycles (4th lane), for buses and jeepneys (5th lane), for bus stops (7th and 8th lane), and for bikes (8th lane).

The MMDA will deploy up to a hundred traffic constables and provide participants with 60 bicycles for free.

“This Bayanihan sa Daan is a concept that the MMDA supports because we want to move people and share the road with pedestrians, bikers and runners,” Carlos said.

Sunday’s event is a followup to the Feb. 7 activity on Roxas Boulevard, where about 3,000 people took part.

“We like it to be held on a regular basis, just like what Pasig City is doing (on some of its roads) every Sunday,” MMDA General Manager Cora Jimenez said.

After Commonwealth, Carlos said, the next staging may be held on Ayala Avenue, Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas, all in Makati City.-Maricar B. Brizuela