To help ease traffic, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is considering adding an EDSA motorcycle lane on which two-wheelers can travel, and only on which they should travel. The DOTr along with other concerned agencies will be conducting viability studies for this plan given how traffic along Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare has only continued to get worse over the years.
Is an EDSA motorcycle lane a, or THE, solution to traffic?
Photo: Department of Transportation
Last year, the MMDA thought of the EDSA bike lane possibly being shared with motorcycles. Of course, it was a controversial proposal that was met with a resounding “NO” from both bicycle and motorcycle groups. If sharing is not the answer, the DOTr has thought of adding a dedicated EDSA motorcycle lane instead.
Photo: Department of Transportation
“‘Yung EDSA po natin four lanes lang po yan. ‘Yung isang lane meron na tayong busway. Doon sa right side na portion ‘yung bicycle lane. We are looking siguro po ‘yung katabi ng bicycle lane ang gawin nating motorcycle lane [EDSA has four lanes. One lane is the busway. The right side is the bicycle lane. We are looking at maybe making the lane beside the the motorcycle lane],” said Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista.
“Kasi ngayon makikita n’yo sa EDSA, lahat ng lane kinakain {ng motorcycle) [Now you can see that all lanes on EDSA are being used by motorcycles]. We’re working with MMDA on how we can improve the traffic situation relating to motorcycles,” he added.
Photo: Metro Manila Development Authority
Ideas are good, yes? But the strange thing here is the existence of MMDA Resolution 001-12. The said Resolution signed in 2012 was “To address the concerns of traffic congestion and accidents, the MMDA decided to establish a non-exclusive motorcycle lane along both sides of EDSA, known as the EDSA Motorcycle Lane”.
The aforementioned “non-exclusivity” covers the fact that private vehicles may use the motorcycle lane, PUBs may not use it, and motorcycles must only use the lane while traversing EDSA. This calls us to wonder why this is coming out to be an “idea” of the DOTr now when, supposedly, this was supposed to have existed for the past 12 years now.
What happened? Why was it seemingly discontinued, and why is it that there was no enforcement or reinforcement of this said law even as we speak?
These notwithstanding, if an EDSA motorcycle lane will, indeed be assigned, we can only hope that its use will be properly enforced and those who disregard the law will be made accountable to the full extent of the law. After all, discipline and respect of the law are strong foundations towards not being an unnecessary source of traffic anywhere, right?
