Car-free days in the Philippines

Last updated

Car-free days in the Philippines refers to several government and private sector initiatives designating certain areas at specific days or times as car-free to promote gatherings, exercise, and other recreational activities.

Contents

History

The earliest known example of a car-free area in the country was the pedestrianization of Rizal Avenue from Recto Avenue to Carriedo Street in Santa Cruz, Manila in 2003. The initiative however, was reversed due to traffic complaints. The segment was reopened to vehicular traffic in 2007. [1]

On June 3, 2012, the Pasig city government launched a car-free day along F. Ortigas Jr. Road in Ortigas Center, closing the road to motor vehicle traffic on Sunday mornings. [2] The car-free day was suspended during the COVID-19 lockdowns from 2020 to 2021, where it was revived in November 2021 as Open Street Sundays. [3] Since 2021, Pasig has since designated more roads with car-free days, dubbing the program as People's Streets. [4]

In February 2021, the entire 5th Avenue in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig was made car-free every weekend. [5]

In September 2023, Ayala Land, the Makati Commercial Estates Association (MaCEA), and the Makati government launched Car Free Sundays at Ayala Avenue, closing most of Ayala Avenue as well as parts of Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas around the Ayala Triangle Gardens on Sunday mornings. [6]

In December 2023, car-free days were also initiated by the Greenfield Development Corporation in Greenfield District, with parts of Mayflower Street being closed to traffic on Sunday mornings. [7]

In May 2024, Manila City Ordinance No. 9047 was signed, launching Move Manila Car-Free Sundays By the Bay which designates a 2.3 km (1.4 mi) portion of Roxas Boulevard as car-free on Sunday mornings. [5] The city is also studying the possibility of expanding its car-free days to the Pasig River Esplanade and Binondo district. [8]

List

NameYear startedScheduleCoverageLocation
Car-Free, Care-Free Days2024Every first Sunday of the month, 6:00 am to 10:00 am
Diliman, Quezon City
Car Free Sundays at Ayala Avenue2023Every Sunday, 6:00 am to 10:00 am
Makati Central Business District, Makati
Car-Free Sundays at Mayflower Street2023Every Sunday, 6:00 am to 10:00 am
Greenfield District, Mandaluyong
Move Manila Car-Free Sundays By the Bay2024Every Sunday, 6:00 am to 10:00 am Ermita and Malate, Manila
My Street High Street2021Every Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 am to 9:00 pm
  • 5th Avenue (28th Street to 30th Street)
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
List of People's Streets in Pasig
NameYear startedScheduleCoverageLocation
Brgy. San Antonio People's Street2021Every Saturday, 6:00 am to Sunday 9:00 pm
  • F. Ortigas Jr. Road (formerly Emerald Avenue))
Ortigas Center, Pasig
People's Street sa Bgy. Bagong Ilog2022Every Sunday, 6:00 am to 12:00 pm
  • Kamagong Street (Eugenio Mejia to Yakal Street)
Bagong Ilog, Pasig
People's Street sa Brgy. Kapasigan2023Every Sunday, 6:00 am to 6:00 pm
  • M.H. del Pilar Street (San Nicolas Barangay Hall to Elpidio Angeles Street)
Kapasigan, Pasig
People's Street sa Bgy. Oranbo2022Every Sunday 6:00 am to 6:00 pm
  • Oranbo Drive (Capt. Javier Drive to St. Peter Street)
Oranbo, Pasig
People's Street sa Bgy. Manggahan2022Every Sunday, 6:00 am to 6:00 pm
  • East Bank Road (Manggahan Barangay Hall to Alfonso Street))
Manggahan, Pasig
People's Street sa Caruncho2022Every Saturday, 6:00 am to Sunday 9:00 pm
  • Caruncho Avenue (SPED Linear Park to M.H. del Pilar Street)
San Nicolas (Pob.), Pasig
People's Street sa Bgy. Sto. Tomas2022Every Sunday, 6:00 am to 12:00 pm
  • M.H. del Pilar Street (San Nicolas Barangay Hall to Elpidio Angeles Street)
Sto. Tomas, Pasig
People's Street sa Bgy. Sumilang2022Every Sunday, 6:00 am to 6:00 pm
  • Lopez Jaena Street (E. Santos Avenue to Dr. Garcia Street)
Sumilang, Pasig

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makati</span> Highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines

Makati, officially the City of Makati, is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concentration of multinational and local corporations in the Philippines. Major banks, corporations, department stores as well as foreign embassies are based in Makati. Makati is also known for being a major cultural and entertainment hub in Metro Manila. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 629,616 people, making it the 47th most populous city in the country and 8th most populous in Metro Manila. Makati is one of the most densely populated city proper areas globally, ranking 8th worldwide and 2nd in the Philippines, after Manila, with a population density of 28,975 inhabitants per square kilometer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EDSA</span> Limited-access circumferential highway around Metro Manila

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, namely, from north to south, Caloocan, Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Pasay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Manila Development Authority</span> Philippine government agency

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is a government agency of the Philippines responsible for constituting the regional government of Metro Manila, comprising the capital city of Manila, the cities of Quezon City, Caloocan, Pasay, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasig, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Valenzuela, Malabon, Taguig, Navotas and San Juan, and the municipality of Pateros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayala Avenue</span> Major avenue in the National Capital Region of the Philippines

Ayala Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Makati, the Philippines. It is one of the busiest roads in Metro Manila, crossing through the heart of the Makati Central Business District. Because of the many businesses along the avenue, Ayala Avenue is nicknamed the "Wall Street of the Philippines" and dubbed in the 1970s and 1980s as the "Madison Avenue of the Philippines".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayala Malls</span> Chain of shopping malls owned by Ayala Corporation

Ayala Malls is a retail subsidiary of real estate company Ayala Land, an affiliate of Ayala Corporation. Founded in 1988, Ayala Malls owns a chain of large shopping malls, all located in the Philippines. Ayala Malls is one of the largest shopping mall retailer in the Philippines, along with SM Supermalls and Robinsons Malls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ortigas Avenue</span> Major Metro Manila-Rizal arterial

Ortigas Avenue is a 12.1 km (7.5 mi) highway connecting eastern Metro Manila and western Rizal in the Philippines. It is one of the busiest highways in Metro Manila, serving as the main thoroughfare of the metro's east–west corridor, catering mainly to traffic to and from Rizal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila East Road</span> Road in the Philippines

The Manila East Road, also known as National Road and National Highway, is a two-to-four lane primary and secondary highway connecting Metro Manila to the provinces of Rizal and Laguna in the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gil Puyat Avenue</span> Road in Metro Manila, Philippines

Senator Gil J. Puyat Avenue, also known simply as Gil Puyat Avenue and by its former official name Buendia Avenue, is a major arterial thoroughfare which runs east–west through Makati and Pasay in western Metro Manila, Philippines. It is one of the busiest avenues in Metro Manila, linking the Makati Central Business District with the rest of the metropolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnaiz Avenue</span> Collector road in Metro Manila, Philippines

Antonio Arnáiz Avenue, also known simply as Avenida Arnáiz and by its former official name Pásay Road, is a major east–west collector road linking Makati and Pasay in the Philippines. It stretches across western Metro Manila from Roxas Boulevard in Pasay to Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA/C-4) in Makati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. P. Rizal Avenue</span> Major thoroughfare in Metro Manila, Philippines

J. P. Rizal Avenue, also known as J. P. Rizal Street, is a major local avenue in Makati and Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a contour collector road on the south bank of the Pasig River that runs east–west from Pateros Bridge at the Taguig–Pateros boundary to its intersection with Zobel Roxas, Delpan, and Tejeron Streets at the Makati–Manila boundary. It is a component of Radial Road 4 (R-4). The avenue was named after the Philippines' national hero, Dr. José P. Rizal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalayaan Avenue</span> Major thoroughfare in Metro Manila, Philippines

Kalayaan Avenue is a major east–west route in Makati and Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. For most of its length, it runs parallel to Jose P. Rizal Avenue to the north from East Rembo near Fort Bonifacio to Barangay Singkamas by the border with Santa Ana, Manila. It is interrupted by Bel-Air Village between Rockwell Drive and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). The avenue east of EDSA is designated as a component of National Route 190 of the Philippine highway network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meralco Avenue</span> Road in Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines

Meralco Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare in Ortigas Center in Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It links Ortigas Avenue in the north and Shaw Boulevard in the south and borders the western edge of Valle Verde in Ugong. It is named after the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), headquartered at the avenue's intersection with Ortigas Avenue. Other notable businesses on Meralco Avenue include UnionBank Plaza, Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, Ayala Malls The 30th, Metrowalk, and the mixed-use development called Capitol Commons at the former Rizal Provincial Capitol lot on Meralco and Shaw Boulevard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makati Central Business District</span> Central business district in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

The Makati Central Business District is a privately-owned financial and central business district in the Philippines located in the heart of Makati in Metro Manila. It is politically and administratively known as "Central Cluster" in the West District of Makati. It is different from the Makati civic center known as "Makati Poblacion" which is situated at the northeast portion of the district. It is bounded by EDSA, Amorsolo Street, Ayala Avenue, Gil Puyat Avenue, Osmeña Highway, South Luzon Expressway, Metro Manila Skyway, Zobel Roxas Street, Ocampo Street, Metropolitan Avenue, Nicanor Garcia Street, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati Avenue, Anza Street, Polaris Street, Orion Street, Mercedes Street, Amapola Street and Estrella Street. The whole district occupies barangays of San Antonio, San Lorenzo, Bel-Air, and Urdaneta.

The Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4) is a proposed rapid transit line that would serve the Greater Manila Area of the Philippines. The 12.7 km (7.9 mi), 10-station elevated railway would connect Ortigas Center in Metro Manila and the suburban municipality of Taytay, Rizal. It would traverse along Ortigas Avenue and Manila East Road, starting at the former's junction with EDSA in Quezon City to the west until it terminates near the New Taytay Public Market to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radial Road 5</span> Road network in Luzon, Philippines

Radial Road 5, informally known as the R-5 Road, is a network of roads and bridges which comprise the fifth arterial road of Metro Manila in the Philippines. The road links the city of Manila with Mandaluyong and Pasig in the east, leading out of Metro Manila into the province of Rizal and south towards Laguna. It is the only arterial road traversing the east side of Laguna de Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radial Road 4</span> Road network in Metro Manila, Philippines

Radial Road 4 (R-4), informally known as the R-4 Road, is a network of roads and bridges which comprise the fourth arterial road of Metro Manila in the Philippines. Spanning some 23.5 kilometers (14.6 mi), it connects the cities and municipalities of Makati, Manila, and Taguig in Metro Manila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Metro Manila–related articles</span>

The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the Philippine capital region of Metro Manila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makati Poblacion Park</span>

The Makati Poblacion Park, often shortened to Poblacion Park, is an urban linear park along the south bank of the Pasig River in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines.

References

  1. Lopez, Allison (July 17, 2007). "Lim reopens Rizal Avenue, forest park". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Archived from the original on September 14, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  2. Lapeña, Melay (June 3, 2012). "On 'Carless Sundays', Pasig City residents roam in wide open spaces". GMA Integrated News . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  3. Tunac, Hermes Joy (August 26, 2024). "Iya Villania, Drew Arellano enjoy biking with kids in carless Ortigas". GMA Integrated News . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  4. Lariosa, Saab (June 13, 2022). "More carless, public spaces: Pasig City adds four more 'People's Street' roads". PhilSTAR L!fe . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Santos, Kara (July 29, 2024). "A guide to the car-free streets in Metro Manila during weekends". Top Gear Philippines . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  6. Adel, Rosette (September 10, 2023). "Ayala Avenue kicks off month-long 'car-free' Sunday mornings". The Philippine Star . Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  7. "Advisory: A part of Greenfield District is car-free on Sunday mornings". Top Gear Philippines . December 14, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  8. Hufana, Chloe Mari (May 27, 2024). "Manila eyes wider car-free Sundays". BusinessWorld . Retrieved January 13, 2025.