MMDA to allow counterflow traffic on Edsa and C5 Road

Traffic counterflows will soon be allowed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) along so-called zipper lanes on Edsa and C5 Road in an effort to better manage the huge volume of vehicles during rush hour.

“Kung traffic sa northbound, magdadagdag tayo ng lane mula sa southbound. (If the traffic on the northbound is heavy, we will get an additional lane from the southbound),” MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino told reporters on Monday.

The idea of the MMDA chief was patterned after the reversible lanes in Los Angeles, California, which were set up to ease traffic according to certain traffic conditions.

“Like a zipper, we can open and close it according to the traffic situations,” Tolentino said.

Under the counterflow scheme, one of the opposite inner lanes of the thoroughfares will be available to northbound motorists from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and southbound motorists from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

According to the MMDA, a greater number of motorists use the southbound lane of Edsa in the morning and the southbound lane in the afternoon.

But not all motorists could use the zipper lanes.

Light vehicles

Tolentino said only light vehicles and those with three or more passengers would be allowed on the additional lane.

The MMDA will pilot-test the project on EDSA before replicating it on C5 and other major thoroughfares.

Tolentino said the agency will still study which portions of EDSA and C5 will be viable to have the zipper lanes.

The MMDA chief disclosed that the plan will be set in motion sometime in July. “Once implemented, this will be a big improvement in our traffic in Metro Manila,” he said.

Earlier, the MMDA also announced the opening of the first of the three centralized bus terminals located on the outskirts of the capital. The new terminal is expected to ease the traffic on Edsa and Roxas Boulevard, which provincial buses use as a “parking lots,” said Tolentino.

Tolentino inspected the ongoing construction of the 1.4-hectare transport facility at the Uniwide Coastal Mall compound in Parañaque City and said 972 buses, mostly from Cavite, would be using the hub and therefore no longer use up space in inner city roads.