THE 20th Davao City Council has approved an ordinance to close the coastal road every Sunday for a Car-Free Day.
Proposed by Councilor Conrado Baluran, chair of the Committee on Transportation and Communications, the ordinance will close the coastal road from Crossing Bago Aplaya to Crossing Tulip Drive every Sunday from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., starting November 30. The closure is part of the proposed Physical Fitness Program by the Davao City Sports Development Division (DCSDD).
“In connection with the proposed fitness program of the Davao City Sports Development Division, Mr. Aportadera requested for a road closure of the Davao City Coastal Road every Sunday for the said purpose,” Baluran said on Tuesday morning, November 12, 2024, at the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Traffic advisories and signs will be posted in the area, along with designated U-turn slots, parking for cars and motorcycles, and a team of traffic enforcers. Information campaigns will be conducted to keep the public informed about the road closure and the program.
Earlier this year, Davao City-based environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis) advocated for a “Car-Free Ordinance.”
EnP Lemuel Manalo, the program coordinator at Idis, said on July 8, 2024, that the initiative aims to promote recreational activities like jogging, cycling, and pet walking on weekends.
“Regular Car-Free Sundays is to encourage recreational activities, health, and mobility in the city. We need to make a day for us to be independent from cars, and vehicles for just a day of purely recreational, purely mobility,” he said.
Several cities have implemented car-free days, either through partnerships like Makati’s Ayala Avenue, managed by Ayala Land, or independently, like in Antipolo City.
The car-free day ordinance was first drafted before the pandemic but was delayed due to the need to integrate it with the Davao City High Priority Bus System. RGP
