U-turn slots to go?

TURN FOR THE WORSE? This scene on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City seems to support the view that U-turn slots impede rather than ease traffic flow. ERNIE U. SARMIENTO

Motorists either like them or hate them: The estimated 120 U-turn slots on major Metro Manila thoroughfares.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is considering the closure of several, if not majority of these U-turn slots, particularly those that end up clogging rather than easing traffic flow.

“We are doing a continuous study and evaluation of these U-turn slots with the aim of sustaining the smooth flow of traffic especially on major roads,” MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez said in a phone interview yesterday.

If properly implemented, the closure of U-turn slots could actually speed up traffic, she said. Jimenez cited as examples the slots that were closed on Commonwealth Avenue, Katipunan Avenue and Quezon Avenue, all in Quezon City.

However, there are some U-turn slots that are better left open despite being the subject of complaints, she said.

“We had a case of the U-turn slot along C5 Road, near Eastwood City in Libis. Motorists were always complaining (earlier) that they were having difficulty entering Eastwood because of the traffic building up at the slot,” Jimenez recalled.

“However, when we closed it and moved it away from Eastwood City, the traffic just got worse,” she added.

Introduced during the MMDA chairmanship of Bayani Fernando, the U-turn slots could be the latest traffic measure to be altered or scrapped by the agency under the current chair, Francis Tolentino.

Earlier, the MMDA removed the sidewalk metal fences which were also introduced by Fernando and repainted the latter’s pink road signs and structures green.

Mostly gone, too, are Fernando’s pink sidewalk urinals.

Jimenez maintained that the MMDA would not be doing anything drastic: “First of all, if we are to close a U-turn slot, we need to open an intersection. And opening an intersection is not easy, because there are some where you are not allowed to take a U-turn.”

And for any new intersection, new traffic lights are also needed, which adds to the cost of the project, Jimenez said.