Wider sidewalks, more green: ideas abound for a walkable Metro Manila

 

According to Clean Air Initiative-Asia Policy and Partnership Manager Atty. Glynda Bathan-Baterina, we should do away with the obsolete paradigm that building more roads will deal successfully with the increased demand for mobility. Instead, the workshop uses the new mobility paradigm to develop sustainable transport systems. This is done through Avoid-Shift-Improve measures, taken from a publication of the German International Cooperation, and accepted by several organizations including CAI.

Measures consistent with the new paradigm can be seen in China, where they have very wide pedestrian facilities, Seoul, where they tore down a highway and revived a stream, and Jakarta, where they have a car-free day once a week.

The workshop was based on the University of Michigan Sustainable Mobility Accessibility Research and Transformation (SMART) Center’s approach which identifies the New Mobility Grids in communities and regions around the world.

Using color-coded stickers, participants marked maps of the Ortigas area, indicated connection points between modes of transport, areas for improvement, opportunities for business, as well as for “moving minds” in order to get key people like leaders and big organizations involved.

The long-term goal is for the workshop participants to share the idea of mapping in their own barangays, so that more and more people can get involved in working toward a pedestrian and environment-friendly city.

Project Director Dr. Segundo Romero said if a whole barangay does this exercise, it will result in action. “They will not be able to sleep because they will be thinking of so many things that they can do for their barangay, and they will know which people want to do the same thing,” he said.

Romero said that the workshop is not just one event, and they plan to put the outcomes on a big virtual map. “As they say, if you don’t pedal your bicycle, you will flounder. We are pedaling,” he said.

Common themes were revealed during the workshop discussion. Eight out of ten people in Metro Manila take public transportation, but pedestrians are often the last priority on the roads. This was echoed during the workshop, with participants noting the lack of safe pedestrian crossing, sidewalks and bridges.

It was also noted that there are many redundant transport hubs, with public utility vehicles stopping before and after intersections. Participants also pointed out that a lack of predictable public transport and direct routes results in longer periods in transit, which costs time and money.

Several suggestions included a request to widen the sidewalk along ADB complex. “We have to improve sidewalks also, so people would like to walk. If that means more greenery, a covered areapara hindi ka maulanan o kaya maarawan masyado, so be it,” said Tiklop Society’s Pio Fortuno Jr., representing one workshop group.

Bike lanes were high on the list, as well as a bike sharing program to encourage people to use private vehicles less, and a carless day.

A particularly ambitious idea envisioned a green space linking Ortigas Center to the Pasig River, as well as toward Greenhills and including the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club, which was envisioned as a public park.

“The city is really starved for green spaces,” said ADB Senior Transport Specialist Lloyd Wright. The green way would have a cycle route, as well as outdoor galleries, street furniture, playgrounds and organic businesses.

ADB’s Lloyd Wright says the city is starved for green spaces. Photo courtesy of the Ateneo School of Government

While participants were excited about their ideas, they had to remain realistic and consider the research that needs to be done, as well as possible barriers to their dream city. Current routes as well as land ownership would need to be plotted in a Geographic Information System. Experts must conduct a gap analysis to identify the overlaps in the current routes. Some of the barriers were the need for legislation, and of course, funding. The cities involved would also need to resolve conflict in their respective city plans, as Ortigas is in the middle of Mandaluyong, Quezon City and San Juan.