The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Transportation (DOTr) and two other agencies will hold the Bike Lane Awards as a way to recognize the best practices and innovations of local government units in establishing bike lanes. The Award will also showcase their innovative practices in promoting active transport during this time of the pandemic,
“The Bike Lane Awards aims to recognize the efforts and practices of LGUs in promoting active transport especially during this time of pandemic when mobility is limited. In addition, we hope to further promote road safety for all users and encourage the establishment of protected bike lanes,” said DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año.
In DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2021-113, Año urged all LGUs with existing or ongoing bike lane construction to take part in the “National Bike Day” Bike Awards 2021: LGUs Active Mobility Initiatives and Practices in the Establishment of Bike Lanes, which will be held on November 28, 2021.
Last year, the DILG issued MC No. 2020-100 encouraging all LGUs to promote and make active transportation accessible as a means to support people’s mobility within their respective areas of jurisdiction.
The DILG Secretary said that now that there are limited modes of public transportation due to the pandemic, “the need to promote active transport becomes all the more important so that people can continue to report to and from work and access essential services.”
“The challenge, therefore, is for LGUs with the help of concerned government agencies and other stakeholders, to provide means for active transport. Through the Bike Lane Awards, we aim to acknowledge and celebrate the innovations of LGUs in the establishment of bike lanes,” he said.
The Active Transport Technical Working Group (TWG), comprised of the DILG, DOTr, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and Department of Health (DOH) will evaluate LGUs based on institutional mechanism; policy, ordinances, and issuances; coverage of bicycle network; planning of bicycle network; quality of network and infrastructure design; implementation, monitoring, and evaluation; and road safety design and compliance to design standards.
Año said that LGUs who wish to participate must submit the required documents to the DILG for evaluation. The DILG will screen all submitted entries based on the submitted documents and Means of Verifications (MOVs).
The DILG will select the qualified LGU candidates based on the completeness of their submissions, each containing the following sections: background profile of bike lane network and policy initiatives; bike lane network/s; and other data and information requirements.
“We would like to remind LGUs that MOVs must be comprehensive as these will be used to assess and understand LGU performance. Only LGUs that submitted complete documents and attachments will qualify for the national validation,” he said.
LGUs that pass the initial screening will be part of the National Validation to be held on the first to the third week of November 2021, to determine the national awardees for each category.
LGUs will be grouped into three categories namely: City; 1st to 3rd Class Municipality; and 4th to 6th Class Municipality. The top three LGUs per category will receive a plaque of recognition and be declared as Gold, Silver, and Bronze awardees respectively, provided further that the LGU’s overall score percentage must at least reach the 75% passing rate.
Special awards may also be given to LGUs that have shown exemplary performance, have shown best practices, and innovative interventions in select aspects of program implementation.
Interested LGUs may access the required template through the link: bit.ly/2021bikelanesaward. Filled-out templates of documents must be submitted to the DILG Bureau of Local Government Supervision (BLGS) through the LGU’s respective DILG Regional Offices.
The final call for submissions and consolidation of entries will be on October 22, 2021. (via DILG | Photo by Arnold Almacen)
