‘Sidewalk traffic?’ Pedestrian blocked by motorcycles in Ortigas Ave. Extension traffic goes viral

September 15, 2023 - 6:17 AM
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Ortigas Ave Extension
A portion of Ortigas Avenue Extension across SM City East Ortigas in Pasig City in this photo captured by Google on January 2019 (Screen capture from Google Philippines)

“Naglakad na nga lang, na-traffic pa.”

A video of a commuter being blocked by motorcycles on a bike lane while walking amid the traffic earned buzz among the local online community.

Facebook user Pinky Santos on Tuesday, September 12 shared a video of a commuter along Ortigas Avenue Extension who could not walk because the path was blocked by two non-moving motors.

Another motor was also behind him.

The commuter was only able to move after one of the motors in front finally gave way.

“DITO, KAHIT MAGLAKAD KA, MA-TA-TRAFFIC KA [PA DIN]! KUYA, WALA KA CHOICE WAHAHAHAHA,” Santos wrote as a caption.

Her video has amassed about 39,000 laughing reactions and 23,000 shares on the social networking platform.

It also made its way to Reddit’s r/Philippines and on the X (formerly Twitter) platform.

The posts on the commuter earned various comments from Filipinos, with some expressing frustration at the lack of space for pedestrians on the road.

“It is called a SIDEWALK. Motorcycle riders should respect the space for pedestrians who need safe spaces to walk around the city,” an online user wrote.

“Dapat ata naka-red plate din ang pedestrians para may special lane,” another Filipino commented.

“[‘Di ba] bawal sa sidewalk ang mga motorcycle?” said a different Pinoy.

The video was taken on the southbound lane of Ortigas Avenue Extension, specifically across SM City East Ortigas in Pasig City.

The particular lane has no dedicated sidewalks or allotted space for pedestrians, although it has a bike lane on the edge of the road—where the commuter was spotted walking.

A fuller view of the lane could be seen in this video uploaded by a Facebook user last year:

Pedestrians in the area are expected to use the other lane (northbound) to walk, although some public transport drop off passengers further ahead of the southbound road, where there is more ample space for commuters.

Ortigas Avenue Extension is the main road that thousands of residents of Pasig and other towns from Rizal use to go to Metro Manila.

Apart from Pasigueños, it also serves the residents of Cainta, Taytay, Antipolo, Binanongan and other neighboring municipalities.

As such, the area regularly experiences heavy vehicular traffic, prompting some commuters to walk if they are in a hurry and if the traffic is non-moving.

Ortigas Avenue Extension connects to Ortigas Avenue, one of the busiest highways in Metro Manila that serves as the main thoroughfare of the metro’s east-west corridor.

ALSO READ: Road works turn Ortigas Avenue Extension into another EDSA