MANILA, Philippines — Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto lamented how the policies of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to ease traffic along EDSA worsened the situation in major roads in his jurisdiction.
“In recent days, we have had to deal with even more challenges. Most notably, the efforts of the #MMDA along #EDSA have greatly increased vehicle volume in C5 and even the interior roads of Pasig,” Sotto wrote in a Facebook post last August 9.
“We will defer to the wisdom and authority of the MMDA, but this increased traffic on our side is a reality for now,” he added.
MMDA recently conducted a dry run of its provincial bus ban policy and strictly enforced the yellow lane policy along EDSA, hoping to ease gridlock at Metro Manila’s main highway.
Sotto also mentioned that Pasig officials have been working with “outside experts” to come up with a plan to ease the traffic, but the lack of available data has been making it more difficult.
“We have been working to improve traffic management in Pasig, as we wait for our Traffic Mgmt Task Force to present their final recommendations on Aug. 15. One main difficulty that we’ve had was the lack of available data,” Sotto said.
“Isipin niyo, nung pinatanong ko kung ilan ang terminal ng TODA sa Pasig, wala palang kumpletong listahan! Ang mga stoplight naman natin, ang vehicle volume/traffic count na ginagamit ay ‘yung galing pa palang taong 2014! Hindi magiging epektibo ang mga patakaran natin nang walang maayos na datos-pangkabuuan,” he added.
Sotto also pointed out that reducing the demand for vehicles could be the most effective solution in the long run.
“With all of this in mind, the bottom line is that traffic in Pasig and Metro Manila will continue to worsen no matter what traffic policies we have, UNLESS we lessen the demand for cars,” Sotto said.
“This means a greater focus on moving people rather than private vehicles. This means incorporating more non-car modes of transportation in our long-term plans,” he added. /kga