Why Filipinos Need Trees to Bike

  

We need to saturate roadsides with trees 

if we want sustainable transport for the majority.

 

Bicycle ride is the most practical and sustainable transport for the working-class Filipinos. But what keeps Filipinos from biking?

 

Working class Filipinos like to bike-to-work, not only for practical reasons like getting to your destination faster, and to engage in physical exertion, but to save on money and time.

But why do not-so-many Filipinos bike? Three main reasons keep Filipinos from using bikes.

1. The extreme heat of navigating tree-less/ shade-less roads

2. The smoke from motorized vehicles

3. Safety.

 

Why are there less trees in our roads?

 

Many politicians, #DPWH dreamers, #planners and urban designers, for some delusional reasons, actually believe Philippine roads should have U.S.-like highways that could accommodate at least 6 trucks or cars side-by-side at any given time. So, they prohibit planting of trees near roads due to #future road expansion.

 

This is an impossibility due to the old layout of early poblaciones or town centers all over the country, where only a couple or 3 vehicles can be accommodated at one time, already leading to a lot of bottleneck areas from farm/non-residential to town center roads. But these so-called bureaucrats never get the hint.

 

They pretend the Philippine government will always have the funds and resources to pay off old houses and establishments which walls now hug the semi-urban and urban roads all over the country from previous road expansions, to move or give way for "development".

 

Another reason they keep trees away from roads as much as possible is because they believe trees cause accidents, although not a single study has been cited to back this. But trees are necessary for not only for bikers, but also for the pedestrian, joggers, and every road users. As already pointed out, about 20% of the heat island effect is reduced when trees shade the roads.

The second positive thing for bikers and pedestrians after city governments provided bike lanes for them is the proposal of Quezon City 4th District  once a week. Tomas Morato located on the northeast side of the Scout area of Quezon City already used to host tiangge or flea market every Sunday several decades back. In an interview, Belmonte hopes to have the area as "the center of pedestrianization [in] Quezon City."

 

The proposed ordinance 242 series of 2023, prohibits motorized vehicles from traversing or parking along Tomas Morato Avenue, until Mother Ignacia Avenue to E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, every Sunday, from 12 am to 11:59 pm.

Violators will be fined P1,000 for the first offense; P2,000 for the second offense, P3,000 for the third offense, and P5,000 for succeeding offenses. Fourth violation will be recommended for suspension of their driver’s license from the Land Transportation Office.

But many first world cities already veer away from using motorized vehicles as more tree parks, bike routes, walk/run/jog paths are established, while Philippine bureaucrats remain in the dark while they wait for the next catastrophe, or #bigthing to copy & paste, not out of desire to improve the lot of their fellow taxpayers, but to simply abide by the dictates of -say the now very dubious World Health Organization (WHO) or the United Nations, or the World Bank. Like they would at any time or in the future promote the much safer, less resource-demanding, healthy bicycles. (That would be another story entirely). 

While EVs are the choice products of climate change promoters, Philippines should now reconsider bicycles and totally support  its needed green infrastructure (tree shades).

 

If bike enthusiasts are serious about it, they need to wake the country leaders or planners up, from LGUs to DPWH and the Metro Manila Development Authority to reconsider their short-sighted understanding of real bike-use promotion. It is not just about giving way to public clamor for a painted bike lane, but towards a healthier, much #sustainable cities and lifestyles.

 

Yes sirs, we need our bike lanes shaded by trees, and no sirs, trees do not always cause road accidents. #btw #biketowork #bikinginthePhilippines #Philippibebiking #treeplanting #bikelanes #metromanila #bikers #Philippinebikers