Flyovers not a neat solution

I went to Manila  for official business with my brother-in-law Jerome Cuizon and his son Lambert to  visit the  Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), specifically Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla,  to address a business concern, one shared by others in the tourism business.

I’m  happy to report that Lotilla received us in  his office Friday afternon and listened attentively. I was  amazed that Lotilla was well apprised of  concerns of the tourism sector, including our concern about the suspension of franchises for tourist buses and coasters.

Lotilla understood where we were coming from and assured as he would do his best to address it. He said the government should support enterprises like car rental service providers  as a partner in promoting tourism, and that the government has no business  making the  lives of operators  miserable.

I was happy with  Lotilla’s response. He asked us  to formally write Transportation and Communication  Secretary Jun Abaya so the  agency could work on a solution.

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Traffic in Metro Manila is getting worse despite massive road infrastructure like flyovers and the Light Rail Transit.

Multi-flyovers crisscross each other. Some flyovers there really help ease traffic because they are wide four-lane roads.

It’s a different experience altogether in Cebu City, where flyovers are only two lanes  and become a chokepoint. Vehicles  approaching a flyover from a  two or three-lane road suddenly have to constrict to a single lane.

I’ve  observed flyovers in Bangkok, Thailand  where  traffic is much better than in  Metro Manila. The promoters of Cebu’s two-lane flyovers should  wait for a comprehensive urban  master plan before we  create  another problem instead of solving it with the lack of  proper  studies.

There is logic and reason behind letting professinal urban planners do their job in producing a master plan so that Cebu becomes a livable city and not a trap  for floods and traffic like Metro Manila, which is definitely not a model to follow.

Flyover advocates  should listen to planning experts.

I am not against the construction of flyovers in the city per se, but they must be studied well to decide what design and location is appropriate. Is it really necessary to put a flyover in a particular  intersection or is a flared intersection a better idea?

There’s no need to rush building another flyover.   It’s best to wait for a Cebu City   master plan to identify where a flyover is needed or not.

Metro Manila’s exprience would prove  that flyovers are not the perfect solution. It would take more than a new flyover to solve Cebu’s traffic congestion.