MANILA -- The Walled City of Intramuros in Manila was made more accessible to the public on Friday with the inauguration of a 9.35-kilometer long bike lane and walkway network, complete with accessibility ramps for persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Four new public transport stops were also built in strategic locations.

The inauguration was led by Assistant Secretary Tracker Lim of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which spearheaded the active and public transport expansion project.

General Luna Street, in particular, has been fully pedestrianized amid public clamor for a safe and open space for all.

“Ibig sabihin po, hindi namin papapasukin ang motor vehicles (This means we won't let motor vehicles in). By reducing vehicular traffic and increasing mobility options, we are taking a big step forward towards a greener, more sustainable future,” said Intramuros administrator Atty. Joan Padilla.

According to Padilla, General Luna is considered a main thoroughfare inside Intramuros, as it connects Fort Santiago, the Manila Cathedral, Plaza Roma, and the world heritage site: the San Agustin Church.

The project is also seen to bring in over a million more tourists to Intramuros.

“As the DOTR’s pioneer cycling tourism project, this initiative expected to bring in 1.3 million tourist visits to Intramuros,” said architect Aj Pajo of the DOTr Active Transport Project Office.

Padilla hopes this could even help them exceed the 4.2 million visitors they recorded in 2023.

“We already have 3.6 million visitors as of June. Hopefully, with the inauguration of the pedestrianization and the bike lane project through the Active Transport Program, mas lalo pa pong ma-encourage, lalo na yung mga may active lifestyle na dito kayo mag-bike,” she added.

Bambike Ecotours Intramuros, which operates cycling tours in the area, said the protected bike lanes are a great selling point, particularly for foreign tourists who are concerned about their safety due to Manila’s reputation for having one of the worst traffic congestion.

“One of the biggest apprehensions that people face in even thinking about coming here to bike is, is it safe enough? So that’s always been a barrier,” said company founder Bryan Benitez McClelland.

“But now our guests feel so much safer. Our guides also feel much more confident taking the guests around because we know that there are protected bike lanes,” he added.

CAR-LESS INTRAMUROS?

Asked if there are plans for Intramuros to go completely car-less, Padilla said it’s possible, but they are taking baby steps for now.

“If maging maganda 'yung reception and when we have siguro a built-in transport hub, magkaroon tayo ng car-free Intramuros. Pero siguro start muna natin kahit car-free Sunday, car-free weekend… kagaya po sa Makati and sa Manila,” she said.

(If the people receive this well and maybe when we have a built-in transport hub, then we can have a car-free Intramuros. but maybe we can start with car-free Sundays or car-free weekends...like what we see in Makati and Manila.)

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Mobility advocacy group, Move as One, meanwhile, urged the government to build more active transport infrastructure even beyond the walls of Intramuros.

“We should make it our common goal to create an urban environment so that any person, even a child or senior citizen, would be able to ride a bike safely to Intramuros or to any part of the city from any part of Metro Manila,” said Move As One convenor Rob Siy Jr.

The DOTr, meanwhile, vowed to do just that, noting that it has even been implementing the program in the provinces.

“We are replicating the initiative in the countryside to help protect the environment from rising CO2 emissions of fossil-fueled vehicles,” said Lim.