Dear Manila Yacht Club members: #SidewalksAreForPeople

Dear Manila Yacht Club members, 

It’s a sunny day as I write this letter, a good day to enjoy a meal in the MYC’s Old World dining room and watch the boats bobbing up and down. But it seems all is not well in your front yard.

Cultural activist Carlos Celdran has made the MYC parking lot and driveway his “P***** of the Day.” (The blanked word is a Spanish word that rhymes with paella.)

In a Facebook post, he alleges that MYC members “do not want to have BIKE LANES and PEDESTRIAN walkways running by the entrance of their precious club.” Carlos says, “I was told that they even have gone so far as to convince people in power to STOP the renovations in order to keep their ‘historical’ parking lot and driveway for their wealthy club members. All this even despite the fact that they DO NOT OWN the land in front of them.”

Is this true, MYC members? Please answer Carlos’ claims. I need to know because I am someone who often walks and rides a bicycle in Manila. And I have wondered why the bike lanes and walkways on Roxas Boulevard stop abruptly in the 200 or so meters in front of the MYC.

Folks, I’ve got news for you: You may own boats and belong to a club. But you don’t own the sidewalk.

Sidewalks are for people. That is the reason why Paulo Alcazaren, award-winning landscape architect, planned lanes and paths along the entire length of Roxas Boulevard for people to walk and bike on.

Everybody’s safe zone

Filipinos do walk. It is a widely held but false belief that we are too lazy to get around on our own two feet. According to this report, 20% of all trips taken in Metro Manila in 1996 were walking trips. And unless someone has secretly perfected levitation or a Floo Network, we all walk in the course of a day.

Filipinos ride bicycles. Yes, the heat and the reckless people who drive are concerns. But that hasn’t stopped 87% of the labor force – 37.917 million Filipinos – from pedaling their bikes. Many of these workers are building our city: our buildings, streets, and other facilities. Though figures are hard to come by, some of them are priests, nurses, doctors, actors, artists, teachers, and the like. These people are the very same ones who are healing our bodies, feeding our minds, and lifting our spirits.

On the other hand, too many Filipinos have become couch potatoes and are getting fatter. Three out of 10 Filipino adults are obese; even our children are getting plumper. The bottom line: We need to be more active to fend off diseases such as type 2 diabetes and diseases of the heart, lungs, bones, and muscles.

But where can one safely walk, bike, or jog in Manila? MMDA records show that people on foot and people on bicycles are vulnerable on the road. (READ: DENR to require sidewalks, bike lanes in all PH roads)

The bike lanes and walkways on Roxas Boulevard can be everyone’s safe zone. The boulevard can be the club that welcomes all members of the human race and maybe even their four-legged friends, too. Think of the many citizens who can be active together and make friends in a shared space. Imagine how much healthier, happier, and more productive they will be.

A business case

Making the boulevard sweeter to people who are walking or biking will be good for business. Right now, countless Filipinos and tourists are flocking to the amenities that have already been built. When Paulo’s vision becomes a reality, many more people will walk and bike with their friends, woo their sweethearts, and hang out in the boulevard. Many of them will want to eat, drink, buy snacks, and watch shows nearby.

Research shows that making places better for walking can boost footfall and trading by up to 40%. People who walk spend up to 6 times more than people who drive. People on bicycles are serious shoppers, too: they buy less than do people who drive cars, but they shop more frequently.

A city for people, not cars

In short, making Roxas Boulevard better for people who walk and bike will directly benefit people and local businesses. So please do the right thing, MYC members: let go of the MYC parking lot and driveway, and allow the bike lanes and walkways to be built in front of your building.

Think of us, the majority of your fellow Filipinos. We also pay taxes, and we need all the bike lanes, walkways, and public spaces that we can get. We need to experience our city firsthand, not from behind a windshield. We want to be healthier, happier, and more productive citizens.

Let the bike lanes and walkways flow. Then join us in enjoying these amenities. Break away from the pack of rich citizens who “do not use their cities much at all.”

Enrique Peñalosa, visionary mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, says: The rich are “insulated in their cars” and “they move from… apartment building to office to mall, from supermarket to country club. For them the city is a threatening, alien place to be bypassed while going from one private place to another.”

Let public space remain public. Allow the bike lanes and walkways to proceed in front of your building. Then get out of your cars and meet us, your fellow citizens, face to face. Together, let us love the city. Side by side, let us build a city that is, as renowned architect Jan Gehl says, “sweet to people,” not cars. – Rappler.com

Dinna Louise C. Dayao (dinnadayao@gmail.com) is an experienced writer and editor. She organized the Metro Manila Transit Riders’ Union and the Change.org petition calling on President Aquino to require all public officials to ride public transit at least once a month.