BIKE-FRIENDLY CAMP. The regional headquarters of the Police Regional Office 6 (Western Visayas) will soon become a bike-friendly camp with the proposed establishment of a bike lane inside Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo City. Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) head Jeck Conlu, in an interview on Tuesday (Oct. 3, 2023), said the bike lane will encourage police officers and even civilians visiting the headquarters to use bicycles, citing that the camp has a limited parking area. (PNA file photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY – Camp Martin Delgado, the regional headquarters here of the Police Regional Office 6 (Western Visayas), will soon become bike-friendly with the proposed establishment of a bicycle lane into the road network of the more than four-hectare site.
Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) head Jeck Conlu said they will connect the bike lane from the Esplanade to Muelle Loney, passing through various government agencies to Camp Martin Delgado and towards the port area.
“This is the project of Mayor Jerry Treñas for being the Bike Capital of the Philippines. We do not stop, we continue to extend our bike lane here in the city. With this connectivity, we continue to reduce our carbon footprints if once in a while our private car owners use bicycles in going to work and other transactions,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.
Conlu said the idea was broached during his meeting with PRO6 director Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor on Monday.
They intend to realize the project during the term of Villaflor or once the ongoing road rehabilitation inside the camp is completed.
The bike lane, he said, will encourage police officers and even civilians visiting the regional headquarters to use bicycles since the camp has a limited parking area.
“It is possible that it will be the first bike-friendly camp in the Philippines. They already have initiatives like putting bike racks inside the camp,” Conlu added.
Iloilo City has a 46-kilometer existing bike lane that covers the Esplanade --a promenade and linear park along the Iloilo River-- the University Loop and Sunset Boulevard, and the circumferential and radial roads connecting to the adjacent municipalities.
He added the city government will continue to designate more bike lanes as it prepares to host the 2023 National Bike Day Awards and Recognition set on Nov. 24 to 26.
Iloilo City twice received the Gold Award from the Inter-Agency Technical Working Group on active transport composed of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Health and Department of Transportation for its bike lanes that promote active transport. (PNA)
