Looking for a new green destination to bike in the metro soon? How about one in a former dumpsite?
A new bike park, located within the Payatas Controlled Disposal Facility (PCDF) in Quezon City, will soon be opened to the public.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte shared the news, along with several photos, in a social media post on Thursday, March 2. Mayor Belmonte personally inspected the developments around the bike park to ensure that the area is safe for cyclists.
“Sino ang mag-aakala na ang dating Payatas Dumpsite ay ngayo’y isang magandang park na! Abangan ang pagbubukas nito, QCitizens,” she wrote.
The bike park contains both paved roads for road bikers and natural trails ideal for mountain biking, tree lined areas with overlooking views and nearby residential areas, as well as small lagoons.
The Payatas Controlled Disposal Facility (PCDF) is located in the Northeast of Quezon City. In 2000, the area was an open solid waste dumpsite where a garbage landslide ended up killing hundreds of indigent families before it was rehabilitated into a controlled wasted disposal facility. PCDF was closed between 2010 and 2017 to further improve the environemental and health outcomes in the area.
Sino ang mag-aakala na ang dating Payatas Dumpsite ay ngayo'y isang magandang park na! Abangan ang pagbubukas nito, QCitizens! #JoyParaSaBayan #KasamaKaSaPagUnlad #SerbisyoSaBayan #UnaKaSaSerbisyo pic.twitter.com/hXuzTRDFP5
— Mayor Joy Belmonte (@QCMayorJoy) March 2, 2023
The site was envisioned and redesigned as an open space which could provide an economically productive natural environment through activities such as agriculture and native tree nursery, and a green movement corridor to short cut through the city.
The conversion of the former dumpsite to bike park is the latest in Quezon City’s efforts to provide bike-friendly and eco-friendly areas for bikers and pedestrians.
In 2022, the Quezon City Government installed bike ramps on footbridges and one underpass along the city’s 93-kilometer bike lane network as part of its efforts to improve Quezon City’s bike facilities.
Belmonte has been vocal in encouraging residents of Quezon City to shift to cycling to promote an eco-friendly mode of transportation, adding that biking can help in keeping an active and healthy lifestyle.
The bike park is currently not yet open to the public while it is still under development.