Study on Edsa speed limit now underway
Cameras can help determine right speed
By Allison Lopez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:45:00 10/23/2008
Filed Under: Local authorities, Road Transport
MANILA, Philippines – THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Wednesday declared that a speed limit would soon be imposed on Edsa once the agency completes its study of the traffic conditions on the 24 km-long road.
“We have not established the speed limits because we are after speeding up traffic. We are still observing this because if we set it too low, the motorists won’t comply. Doing so would restrict the flow of traffic,” MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando told the Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).
“I also don’t want our boys to take advantage of this so we’re being careful with what limit to set,” he said, adding that the current average speed of vehicles on Edsa was 31.88 kph.
Asked when the speed limit would be set, Fernando replied: “Very soon.”
The MMDA chair was criticized in the past after he said there was no speed limit on the major thoroughfare during a Congressional budget hearing.
But despite the flak, Fernando stressed he still did not believe that Edsa should have a speed limit of only 30 to 40 kph because it was considered a “highway” with an appropriate speed of 100 kph.
“That’s only for minor roads, not for Edsa. That’s already very slow for motorists,” he said, referring to Republic Act 4136, or The Land Transportation and Traffic Code, that set speed limits of 30 to 40 km for “through” streets or boulevards.
The MMDA’s digital canopy project, Fernando added, would help the agency decide the correct speed limit to impose on Edsa.
Under the project, cameras would be installed in strategic points around the metropolis in line with the agency’s efforts to ease Metro traffic.
“In the meantime that we are rushing the completion of the study, I am appealing to motorists to adhere to a US-based road safety organization’s core belief that in the absence of a speed limit on Edsa, they should always ensure that they can stop comfortably on their own side of the road within the distance that they know to be clear,” he said.
On Tuesday, a doctor from a prominent family of optometrists and ophthalmologists died on Edsa-Santolan after a speeding Joanna Jesh Transport bus crashed into his car that later burst into flames. The bus was reportedly racing with another bus when it collided with the Mercedes Benz driven by Dr. Francisco Sarabia.
Following the accident, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board banned Joanna Jesh Transport buses in Metro Manila from plying Edsa for one month.
Fernando, however, pointed out that the bus speed was not the only factor that contributed to the mishap.
For one, the MMDA chair said the bus violated traffic rules since it was not on the designated “yellow lane” reserved for passenger buses plying Metro routes or provincial routes when the collision occurred.
“There is no specific speed limit in the yellow lane, but the speed of vehicles is restricted. There is a self-limiting characteristic because of the presence of railings,” he said.
Fernando added that they would deploy more traffic patrol enforcers starting Wednesday to run after reckless drivers especially during the wee hours.
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