Aurora Boulevard is a four-to-ten-lane major thoroughfare in Quezon City and San Juan in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is named after Doña Aurora Quezon, the consort of Commonwealth President Manuel Luis Quezon. It is one of the major roads in the commercial district of Araneta City in Cubao. LRT Line 2 follows the alignment of the boulevard.
.svg) .svg) R-6  | |
|---|---|
 The route of Aurora Boulevard in Metro Manila. Aurora Boulevard is highlighted in red. | |
.jpg) The boulevard at night | |
| Route information | |
| Component highways | |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |   N130 (Gregorio Araneta Avenue) / N180 (Magsaysay Boulevard) in Quezon City |
| East end |   N11 (Katipunan Avenue) / N59 (Marcos Highway) in Quezon City |
| Location | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Major cities | Quezon City and San Juan |
| Highway system | |
| |
Route description
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Aurora Boulevard is divided into two routes: the segment from G. Araneta Avenue to EDSA and EDSA to Katipunan Avenue (C-5). Most of the road is a 4-lane dual carriageway, with LRT Line 2 having five stations above ground and one (Katipunan station) located underground.
Aurora Boulevard starts as a physical extension of Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard past the intersection with Araneta Avenue near the Manila–Quezon City boundary. It then enters San Juan before crossing Ermitaño Creek near Broadway Centrum to return to Quezon City, this time at the New Manila district. It then intersects Gilmore Avenue, Balete Drive, and E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue before it meets EDSA.
Past EDSA, it passes near the Araneta City Complex in Cubao. The road continues eastward through the barangays of Silangan, Quirino 3-A, and Duyan-Duyan until it ends at Katipunan Avenue (C-5) near the Quezon City–Marikina boundary. It continues eastward to Rizal province as Marikina-Infanta Highway (commonly known as Marcos Highway).
The entire road and its continuations have Class II paint-separated one-way bike lanes as part of the national government's Metropolitan Bike Lane Network.[1] The segments within Quezon City are integrated with the city's bike lane network, with the segment from EDSA to Katipunan Avenue having 0.6-meter (2.0 ft) painted buffer zones on both sides of the bicycle lanes.[2]
History
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The boulevard's origins can be traced back to the Camino de Mariquina (Marikina Road, also called San Juan-Marikina Road), a small road built in 1900[citation needed] to link Manila, San Juan del Monte (San Juan), and Mariquina (Marikina). The road, now known as N. Domingo Street, was named Calle N. Domingo after Nicolas Domingo, a relator (court reporter) of the Real Audiencia of Manila in 1898.[3]: 12
Before 1945, Calle Santa Mesa (Santa Mesa Boulevard, now Magsaysay Boulevard) was extended eastwards from its intersection with Santol Street, crossing the San Juan River and absorbing part of a street in San Juan. The extension was classified as part of Highway 53[citation needed] and was named the Santa Mesa Boulevard Extension.[4][5] It was also named Calle Morales after the name of the street in San Juan that it absorbed. Eventually, the Santa Mesa Boulevard Extension intersects with N. Domingo Street, where the remaining sections of N. Domingo Street from present-day EDSA to present-day Katipunan Avenue were absorbed by the extension.[6][7]
By 1955, the Santa Mesa Boulevard Extension was known as Marikina-Ermita Avenue[8] (or the Manila Provincial Road).[9] In 1963, the road was renamed Aurora Boulevard (as it is known today) to honor the former First Lady Aurora Quezon, the assassinated consort of former Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon. The Magnolia Ice Cream House ice cream parlor and factory[10] once stood at the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Doña Hemady Street. It is now occupied by Robinsons Magnolia, which got its name from the former ice cream parlor and factory.[11]
Intersections
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(2018-05-25).jpg){kind=link}
| Province | City/Municipality | km[12] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quezon City | 6 | 3.7 | N130 (Gregorio Araneta Avenue) | Traffic light intersection. No left turn from westbound. Continues westward to Santa Mesa as N180 (Magsaysay Boulevard). | |
| Quezon City–San Juan boundary | Lambingan Bridge over San Juan River | ||||
| San Juan | H. Lozada Street | Traffic light intersection. | |||
| 7 | 4.3 | J. Ruiz Street | Unsignaled intersection. | ||
| F. Santos Street | Eastbound only. | ||||
| San Juan–Quezon City boundary | Ermitaño Bridge over Ermitaño Creek | ||||
| Quezon City | Broadway Avenue / Valencia Street | Traffic light intersection, no left turn from westbound. Access to Broadway Centrum. | |||
| 8 | 5.0 | N184 (Gilmore Avenue) | Traffic light intersection. Access to Greenhills Shopping Center and St. Paul University. | ||
| 8 | 5.0 | Doña Hemady Street | Traffic light intersection. | ||
| Robinsons Magnolia Access Road | Eastbound only. Access to Robinsons Magnolia. | ||||
| Balete Drive | Traffic light intersection. | ||||
| Seattle Street | Traffic light intersection. | ||||
| 9 | 5.6 | Betty Go-Belmonte Street | Unsignaled intersection. | ||
| N. Domingo Street | Eastbound only. Unsignaled intersection. | ||||
| Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Avenue | No eastbound access. | ||||
| AH 26 (N1) (EDSA) | Traffic light intersection. Route number changes from N180 to N59. | ||||
| General Santos Street | Eastbound only. Access to Araneta City. | ||||
| General Araneta Street / Annapolis Street | Unsignaled intersection. Access to Araneta City. | ||||
| 10 | 6.2 | General Aguinaldo Avenue / Imperial Street | Traffic light intersection. Access to Araneta City. | ||
| Times Square Avenue / Cambridge Street | Traffic light intersection. | ||||
| Oxford Street | Westbound only. | ||||
| General Romulo Avenue / Yale Street | Traffic light intersection. General Romulo Avenue leads to Araneta City. | ||||
| Stanford Street | Eastbound/westbound access only. Access from opposite directions via U-turn slots. | ||||
| 15th Avenue | Traffic light intersection. | ||||
| 11 | 6.8 | 20th Avenue | Eastbound only. Traffic light intersection. | ||
| Ermin Garcia Street | Westbound only. | ||||
| 11.5 | 7.1 | Anonas Street | Westbound only. Traffic light intersection. | ||
| F. Castillo Street | Eastbound only. Traffic light intersection. | ||||
| 12 | 7.5 | Supa Street / J.P. Rizal Street | Traffic light intersection. No traffic lights to and from Supa Street. | ||
| Emerald Street | Eastbound only. Access to Villa Aurora. | ||||
| 13 | 8.1 | N11 (Katipunan Avenue) | Traffic light intersection. Continues eastward to Antipolo as N59 (Marcos Highway). | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
edit- ^ "List of all bike lanes based on DPWH classifications". Freedom of Information Philippines. August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ Luna, Franco (April 7, 2022). "The Road Ahead: For Quezon City, more cyclists will mean more bike lanes". The Philippine Star. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ Artiaga, Santiago (1951). Brief History of San Juan del Monte, Rizal. National Library of the Philippines.
- ^ Executive Order No. 311 (December 17, 1940), Establishing the Classification of Roads, retrieved October 10, 2021
- ^ Executive Order No. 180 (October 2, 1948), Establishing the Classification of Roads, retrieved October 10, 2021
- ^ Manila, Philippines map (Map). American Red Cross Service Bureau. August 1945. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ United States. Army Map Service (1945). Manila North, Philippine Islands, Manila City, Luzon (Map). 1:12,500. United States. United States. Army Map Service. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
- ^ "1956: The UE College of Medicine Opens". University of the East. August 1, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-10-10. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
- ^ Farolan, Ramon (April 28, 2013). "Quezon and Guingona". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- ^ The Magnolia Heritage, Official website, Magnolia Ice Cream Archived 2012-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Official website - Robinsons Magnolia Archived 2012-09-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "North Manila". 2016 DPWH data. Department of Public Works and Highways. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.