Engineering firm proposes to make Edsa, C-5 one-way

The “parking lot” that is Edsa during rush hour. (File photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — A possible solution to decongest Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) and C-5 is to make both busy highways one-way — Edsa going south, C-5 going north.

Fernando Guevara, president of engineering group Guevara & Partners Inc. (GPI), presented this proposal to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday, Aug. 28.

The proposal he said was the result of a study of the Metro Manila road network, which he did after noticing that his employees would arrive hours late for work because of heavy traffic.

Under the proposal, all southbound motorists will use Edsa and all northbound motorists will use C-5. Other roads in Metro Manila will also be utilized.

“All the countries of the world do that. They have circumferential roads. Here it’s a little different. We have something like a spider web,” the engineer, speaking in Filipino, said in an interview with AM radio station DZMM.

Guevara said that the only cost in implementing the traffic scheme would come from the construction of more bus stops along both Edsa and C-5.

As it is, he said, Edsa has 15 stops on each side, northbound and southbound.

The engineer said 96 bus stops would be needed along Edsa and 96 would be needed along C-5. Buses usually block roads due to lack of stops along busy highways, he explained.

Asked if his proposal would not cause delays, especially along C-5, which trucks use, Guevara said with each road going one-way more trucks could pass.

He pointed out that Edsa had five lanes going north and five going south. If you make all 10 lanes southbound, he said, there would be more room for vehicles.

But he said trucks should still be allowed to pass only at specified times. That way, they would not always be traveling at the same time as buses.

Guevara also proposed that bus stops should only be 200 meters away from residential areas.

/atm