A widened Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue and opportunities for complete streets

d0ctrine

April 25

Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue is one of the major roads directly connecting EDSA (C-4) and C.P. Garcia Avenue (C-5). The last time I used the road was before the pandemic. So it came as a surprise to pass by last weekend and see the avenue had been widened. I guess that pretty much "solved" the traffic along this usually busy thoroughfare that is part of jeepney routes to Cubao (via Murphy - referring to Camp Aguinaldo, which was formerly Camp Murphy). The avenue was renamed after a Korean War Hero (my uncle fought under him with the 10th Battalion Combat Team in the Korean War in the 1950s). It was called Santolan Road before.

What used to be a 4-lane road is now an 8-lane road

The area used for road widening was carved out of Camp Aguinaldo. The headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) gave up quite a lot of square meters for this project and you can see from the photo the now very wide avenue. I thought perhaps they could have placed a median island where they could have also planted some trees (note how exposed to the sun the area is). They also could have designed protected bike lanes along either side of the road. These could have connected the EDSA and C5 bike lanes. And, of course, they should have also improved the pedestrian sidewalks. You can see how narrow the sidewalks are and how electric and light posts block pedestrians using the sidewalks. There were opportunities here for the application of complete streets and its not too late to do just that.

I assume there are many men in uniform who use bicycles for their commutes and recreation. Camp Crame is just across EDSA from Camp Aguinaldo and Bonny Serrano Avenue also passes along the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP). Down the road towards Marikina City in Libis is another camp, Camp Atienza, which is home to the 51st Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army. I mention these camps as I know many there regularly use Bonny Serrano for commuting and many use bicycles. A cousin-in-law (my wife's first cousin) who is an army officer bikes a lot from Camp Atienza and Camp Aguinaldo and tells me there are many enlisted men who bike to work.