Portions of Roxas Boulevard in Manila will be closed to traffic every Sunday beginning May 26, 2024, according to an ordinance signed by Mayor Honey Lacuna making a part of the road car-free from 5 am to 9 am every Sunday.

Under the ordinance both the northbound and southbound lanes of Roxas Boulevard from Luneta to Quirino Avenue will be closed to traffic to give way for walking, jogging, running, and biking exercises.

"We will make Roxas Boulevard partly car-free starting on May 26, Sunday. I personally inspected Roxas Boulevard to make sure the road will be ready for the people who will exercise," Lacuna said shortly after the City Council approved the ordinance on Monday.

This revived a policy starting in the late 1970s until the 1990s, when people jogged or walked along Roxas Boulevard from 6 am to 11 am.

"We checked for any hazards and gave instructions to make sure the road, sidewalk, bay walk, and connecting roads are cleared of hazards and garbage,” she added.

Lacuna said, “Car-free Sundays are not new because other NCR cities have done it”

Lacuna also assures that "the concerned city hall departments will be all hands on deck and will notify the buildings, businesses, residents, and offices along Roxas Boulevard so they can participate and make the needed adjustments to their Sunday schedules in May and June."

As of 7 am today, the Air Quality Index (AQI) from the three monitoring locations under the Asia Blue Skies Project shows that Rizal Park has a “good” AQI while an "unhealthy for sensitive groups (UFSG)" AQI was recorded at Barangay 128 and at the Fabella Hospital.

It noted that "people with respiratory diseases such as asthma should limit outdoor activities within the vicinity of UFSG areas." Robina Asido/DMS