Sunday mass movement: Ayala Avenue’s car-free miracle
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On any other day, I’d rather have a root canal than traverse Ayala Avenue on foot. But Sundays are a sacred exception. Without coercion, I willingly embark on this pilgrimage. Ayala becomes my church, where I gladly join the sweaty masses in worship of wellness.
Car-free Ayala Sundays have effectively transformed a bustling urban thoroughfare into a sprawling, temporary public park, addressing the scarcity of public fitness spaces in Makati.
By closing Ayala Avenue to vehicular traffic, a significant stretch of road is converted into a pedestrian-only zone. This provides a large, flat and safe area for various fitness activities, and then some.
It has been almost a year since Ayala Land and the City of Makati implemented the car-free Sundays on Ayala Avenue.
What started as a postpandemic experiment that bans cars from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the Makati CBD’s main thoroughfare and its side streets, from H.V. Dela Costa near the foot of Ayala all the way to Courtyard Drive near Edsa, to make way for a healthier lifestyle for the community, has been extended indefinitely. It’s a move that has been welcomed with gusto by regulars like me.
We’re an eclectic herd of 12,000 people every Sunday, according to Ayala Land’s estimate. We make up a mixed bag of runners, cyclists, rollerbladers, leisure walkers, seniors, kids on tiny bikes and babies and dogs on strollers. Running clubs and cycling groups from across the metro also converge here. Pretty sure I’ve even spotted Captain America and Iron Man on a few occasions. Free from the hazards of traffic, we can pedal away or pound the pavement without the constant worry of accidents.
Benefits
Beyond its physical benefits, the weekend initiative fosters a sense of community, not just among hardcore fitness buffs. There’s also the obvious environmental benefits—if only for a few hours, you’re not breathing exhaust fumes and other air pollutants, plus lower greenhouse gas emissions. The crowd’s electric vibe, combined with the PA’s pumping beats, is also undeniably motivating, inspiring even casual observers to lace up their sneakers or hop on a bike.
On Sundays, there are those like me who are, well, fitness-adjacent—we move and try to look the part in our spandex and Hokas, but we’re not exactly workout junkies. Hard to miss the serious runners—you can spot them a mile away, thanks to their totally humble race finisher tees, haha! But it’s also a common sight here: Gen Zs dressed in cute gym outfits idly walking their even cuter little puppies, only occasionally pausing to take selfies. Hey, whatever gets you your 10,000 steps, right? No one’s judging.
I started going last year only to have something to do with my energetic dog on the weekends—walk the five steps from home to Ayala Avenue, traverse its length to Ayala Triangle Gardens, and have breakfast at Salcedo Village, or if there’s the occasional food market on Paseo de Roxas, which is also closed to traffic, grab a table there. The big Sunday breakfast adds a layer of enjoyment and something to look forward to. Just ask my pug.
Impact on businesses
It’s not just about burning calories and pretending you’re training for a marathon. It becomes a full-blown, open-air block party where the real gold medals are awarded for people-watching and finding the best coffee and breakfast food.
The bustling restaurants and cafes in the vicinity on Sunday mornings attest to the initiative’s positive impact on local businesses. It’s no surprise that other cities are now emulating this successful model—and more cities should.
Although scorching heatwaves temporarily disrupted our weekend routine, the most dedicated participants persevered.
Then a few weeks ago, after finally kicking a pesky health issue to the curb, I decided to stop being a poser, dusted off my barely-broken-in Cloudmonsters, and actually started running again. The open road just beckons me in a way the treadmill never can. Now, I can demolish every greasy, starchy, sugary morsel of my post-run grub without an ounce of regret.
Running on Ayala has also become a habit for Jovic Yee, 33. It’s an activity that he looks forward to on Sundays. A gym rat, he started running a few years back but eventually got bored because there weren’t safe spaces to run outside of the gym.
“It’s great that now an entire stretch of highway is available to the public,” he said. “Week after week you get to challenge yourself to do better, commune with nature, and for competitive folks like me, it’s exhilarating if you get to run alongside someone who is as competitive.”
When Yee’s parents came to visit recently, he made sure to bring them to car-free Ayala to experience it, too.
“And as expected, they enjoyed it,” he said. “Hopefully, more spaces like this, especially in dense urban areas, open up for the public to promote well-being.”
So next time you’re contemplating spending your Sunday morning indoors, remember: The couch can wait. Sleep in on Saturdays, but on Sundays, drag yourself out of bed and swap your sheets for the sidewalk.
