IN our continually changing cities, one truth remains constant: Street design reflects the value we place on human life. As we celebrate National Road Safety Month this May, we must remember that it is not merely a transportation problem. It carries a moral imperative. The decisions made by planners, local governments and policy makers are a matter of life and death.
Move people, not just cars
For decades, our urban corridors have been designed with a single priority — the movement of vehicles. However, rather than being avenues of progress and mobility, our roads are filled with congestion and pollution.
Cities are not meant solely for cars; they are for people.
An inclusive street is one that accommodates all road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists. This means accessible sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and safe crossings. Traffic calming, such as road dieting and speed tables, is needed in residential and urban areas to prevent fatal collisions.
When streets prioritize speed over safety, we inadvertently design environments that endanger the very communities they are meant to serve. We must begin with a fundamental shift in mindset where people have priority over automobiles.
Road safety is a public health crisis
In our country, the absence of these essential elements has led to a silent pandemic. According to the Department of Health, 12,000 Filipinos lose their lives to road crashes each year. These are not “accidents” for they are the predictable outcome of poor planning and lack of enforcement.
When sidewalks are narrow or obstructed, pedestrians are forced onto the road alongside fast-moving vehicles. When motorists encroach on the bike lane, cyclists are inches away from death’s door. When roads are wide and clear, speeding becomes inevitable, opening the door to deadly collisions.
We must recognize that road safety is deeply tied to social equity. The most vulnerable members of society — children, women, the elderly and persons with disability — are also the most exposed to danger. This hinders them from freely moving around the city and participating in society.
The reason why you do not see wheelchair users on EDSA’s sidewalk is because the hostile environment excludes them from benefiting from Metro Manila’s most important thoroughfare, which more than 400,000 cars traverse daily.
Those who have less in wheels must have more in roads. A truly inclusive city protects the marginalized first. This is the essence of good urbanism.
Global best practices
Global best practices offer clear guidance. Cities that have embraced the principles of the Safe Systems Approach, Complete Streets and Vision Zero have seen great reduction in road fatalities and injuries. These are not magic; they are rooted in real-word data and lived experiences. They emphasize a proactive and shared responsibility among all stakeholders, leaving nothing to chance.
We have the opportunity to reimagine our streets, not as mere conduits for traffic, but as public spaces that foster safe and healthy communities. This requires collaboration between the government, citizens and the private sector. It requires visionary leadership, strong political will, good governance and good design, planning and engineering. Long-term vision must transcend short-term thinking.
The Dutch achieved this starting in the 1970s with the Stop de Kindermoord movement. When the country was on the verge of imitating American car-centrism, the people realized the grave cost: More than 400 children lost their lives each year, and this will rise when more roads are built for more cars. Because of these protests, the Netherlands underwent massive reform to become the cycling capital of the world. And the improvement in quality of life has placed it among the happiest countries in the world.
The Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2023-2028 aims to reduce traffic fatalities by 35 percent. Traffic management and enforcement aren’t enough, for there is no replacement for safe design. Design dictates behavior, so the solution lies in creating environments where safety is the natural and best choice.
That is why we at Palafox advocate that one-third of the road should be for pedestrians and cyclists, one-third for trees and landscaping, and one-third for vehicles.
This was put into practice when we partnered with the Department of Transportation for the Active Transport Strategic Master Plan to help LGUs reimagine how they can redesign their streets to be more inclusive and accessible for vulnerable road users.
Cities are for people
We would like to live in environment-friendly designed buildings and master-planned cities and communities, where all public spaces are connected, accessible, walkable, bikeable, safer, well-lit, convenient and clean.
By 2050, more than a hundred million Filipinos will be living in urban areas. As we build new cities and develop existing ones, let us ask ourselves: Are we designing streets that protect people, or endanger them? How many more lives must be lost before we take serious action?
The measure of a great city is not in the volume and speed of its cars, but in the quality of life of its people and communities. Infrastructure isn’t enough if it doesn’t serve everyone, and development is not worthy of its name unless it is spread evenly like butter on a piece of bread.
When you imagine Metro Manila many years from now, is it a place where your children can safely play on the street? The cities we shape today will, in turn, shape the lives of generations to come.
Architect-urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox, Jr. has 53 years of experience in architecture and 51 years in planning. He was educated at Christ the King Seminary, UST, UP and Harvard. He founded Palafox Associates and Palafox Architecture Group, which have more than 2,000 projects in 41 countries, and were recognized with more than 200 awards, including the UAP Dubai Awards First Lifetime Achievement Award (2023).
