AYALA MAKATI Walking Tour | Metro Manila Philippines

Ayala Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Makati, the Philippines. It is one of the busiest roads in Metro Manila, crossing through the heart of the Makati Central Business District. Because of the many businesses located along the avenue, Ayala Avenue is nicknamed the "Wall Street of the Philippines" and dubbed in the 1970s and 1980s as the "Madison Avenue of the Philippines".

History
Ayala Avenue's segment from the present-day Gil Puyat (Buendia) Avenue to Makati Avenue used to be the primary runway of the Nielson Airport, which was inaugurated in 1937 and was one of the first airports built in Luzon, while its extension occupies a segment of an old road that connected the Santa Ana Park and McKinley–Pasay Road. The airport was destroyed during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines on December 10, 1941, and resumed operations after the end World War II in 1947. The airport closed in 1948 and its permanent facilities were passed on the owner of the land, Ayala y Compañía. The runways were then converted into roads as part of Ayala's plan to build a new business district in the area.[6] The modern avenue was completed in the mid-1950s,eventually connecting it to Highway 54 (now EDSA).

It later created a new segment between Kamagong Street in San Antonio Village and Metropolitan Avenue, connecting it to South Avenue. In 1998, a flyover was built for left turners onto EDSA northbound.

Bicycle lanes
In 2020, in response to the growing popularity of bicycle commuting and ownership amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Makati Central Estate Association (MaCEA) and Ayala Land through its Make it Makati campaign designated 3-meter-wide (9.8 ft) bicycle lanes along Ayala Avenue from Gil Puyat Avenue to EDSA, protected by bollards and exclusive to non-motorized bicycles and scooters. Bicycle boxes were also added to intersections to allow left-turns. The lanes underwent a trial run on August 7, 2020, and were completed on September 7, 2020. Following this, designated stops for public transport services were also moved to the middle lane of the road.

Shared lanes scheme controversy
On February 10, 2023, the Make It Makati announced that the bicycle lanes along Ayala Avenue would be changed to shared lane markings (also called sharrows) starting February 15, 2023, and that both motor vehicles and public transport vehicles would be allowed to use the lane.This announcement was met with opposition from cyclists, commuters, and several organizations, who argued that the removal of physical protection on bicycle lanes along major roads leads to intrusion by motor vehicles. The initial announcement was received negatively, in which Make It Makati responded to the negative feedback by justifying the changes as a response to increased public transport demand and "to better serve the needs of everyone in the community". Despite the backlash, they announced they would push through with the changes.

In response, bicycle commuters, car owners, commuters, students, Makati employees, and supporting individuals, as well as several mobility organizations formed the #MakeItSaferMakati movement and signed a joint statement in opposition to the sharrows scheme. The movement expressed concern that the proposed removal of physically protected bicycle lanes on Ayala Avenue is part of a larger trend of removing such lanes all across the country, warning that the lack of physical protection on bicycle lanes along major roads leads to motor vehicles constantly intruding into them. Because of this, they argue that removing physical protection for bicycle lanes on Ayala Avenue would put cyclists in danger and could be fatal.

On February 12, 2023, the movement participated in a protest ride along Ayala Avenue, demanding the recantation of the sharrows scheme and their opposition to the removal of physical protection from bicycle lanes. In response, Make It Makati issued an announcement on February 14 stating that it would defer the implementation of the sharrows scheme to March 6, 2023, to collect feedback and engage in dialogue with the biking community.[17][18] The #MakeItSaferMakati movement has stated that representatives of Ayala Land have reached out to them, assuring that the scheme will be deferred until "they have collected feedback and engaged in a dialogue with the biking community to exchange ideas and best practices."