Remember the accident in San Juan where a cyclist fractured her arm after avoiding a motorized vehicle blocking the bike lane? Well, we passed along Ortigas Avenue a few nights ago and saw that new bollards for the protection of bikers are now installed.
According to a friend who lives in San Juan, the new bollards were attached recently. It’s a good news that we welcome since bollards that hinder motorists from occupying the pathway dedicated to bikers will make cycling safer.
The accident of the lady biker happened last December 15 when she’s on her way home to Manila from San Juan. Bollards were supposed to be fastened in front of Ronac Art Center, the place where the unfortunate incident occurred, where they used to block big cars from entering the bike lane.
That night, since there are no more orange poles, the driver of a motorized vehicle went to the bike lane, maybe strategizing for an attempt to squeeze into the slow traffic. However, he got stuck because there’s a bollard a few meters in front of him that hindered him from passing through.
That caused him inconvenience, along with the cyclists and motorbike riders who could have used their dedicated lanes.
Alert Level 1 was imposed in Metro Manila this month and traffic was somehow back to its pre-pandemic state. More motorized vehicles are on the road and reports of vehicular crashes and other related road issues are becoming common. Other cities have disregarded the improvement of their cycle lanes, an infrastructure that secured people who have turned to biking as their mode of transport.
San Juan City bringing back the bollards is a good move. Other deteriorating poles were replaced too. Thank you. We don’t want to hear more accidents and other unfortunate incidents before the government enacts in keeping the roads safe for more vulnerable users.