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.