Just recently, Quezon City’s Green Transport Office upgraded its cycling infrastructure. Not only are some of the bike lanes wider, but they are now protected by plant boxes.

What’s nice about this development is that it is multipurpose. Aside from acting as a physical barrier to separate active-mobility users from motor vehicles, the plant boxes also beautify the streets and make the city look less like a garbage dump.

You might be wondering: Won’t traffic get worse if there is less space for cars on the road? Not exactly.

The point of infrastructure such as protected bike lanes and end-of-trip facilities is to make biking viable and convenient. And when more people shift from private vehicles to active transport, the roads will be less congested.

Some have expressed concern that the concrete plant boxes are hazardous. But if avoiding stationary objects on the road is too much to ask, then you probably shouldn’t be operating a motor vehicle in the first place.

NOTE: The new barriers have claimed their first casualty.