Road-sharing, parade rerouting for Independence Day
As Cebu City joins the rest of the country in marking Independence Day, traffic officials will repeat the experiment of “road sharing”, this time in barangay Lahug where the road will be “shared” with pedestrians and car users until 12 noon.
But several main streets in the city will be closed starting 1 p.m. for the annual civic-military parade.
A re-routing scheme will be enforced for the parade.
Affected routes include Gorordo Avenue; Gen. Maxilom Avenue, Fuente Osmena Rotunda and the right side of Osmena Boulevard down to P. del Rosario Street.
The parade will feature float dioramas from various stages of history. Participants will assemble at Gen. Maxilom Avenue near the old Sacred Heart School and proceed to the Cebu City Sports Center for a program.
The Cebu City Integrated Traffic Operations Management (Citom) said there would be a road-sharing scheme in areas affected by a solidarity run at 5 a.m from the Capitol down to Plaza Independencia.
Citom chairman Sylvan Jakosalem said they are allowing bicycle riders along Escario Street, Gorordo Avenue going to J Y Square and down to Waterfront Hotel from 6 a.m to 12 noon today.
The activity is organized by barangay Lahug. Jakosalem said no skaters will be allowed in areas identified for road-sharing.
Jakosalem said if they receive any complaints of traffic congestion along these routes, Citom will immediately terminate the activity.
He said they won’t allow a repeat of last year’s “Road Revolution” that aggravated traffic in Colon street with road closures that were declared on short notice.
He said today’s road sharing will serve as an experiment for Citom to determine if it can be done every Sunday.
Mayor Michael Rama will lead the Independence Day celebration which bears the theme: Kalayaan: Pananagutan ng Bayan Para sa Tuwid na Daan.
A Mass to be officiated by Msgr. Roberto Alesna will be held at 7:30 a.m. followed by a flag raising ceremony and a short program at Plaza Sugbu.
The celebrations culminate with an Independence Day Ball at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Lahug, Cebu City.
The Cebu City government allocated half a million pesos for the Independence Day celebration. Tweeny M. Malinao, Correspondent
