Del Mar invites President to inaugurate 2 projects next year

It’s now up to President Aquino to decide whether to go ahead or delay   two new flyovers in Cebu City which are set to be built this year.

Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar appealed to President Aquino in a letter not to put off “my projects” which Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, several businessmen and environment groups are trying to sideline in favor of a full Transportation Master Plan and road widening.

Rama earlier wrote the President opposing the additional two-lane flyovers, saying they were “not the ultimate solution to traffic congestion” and would damage Cebu City’s landscape as a “heritage city” rich in culture and history.

“I regret that Mayor Rama had to bother the President with this local issue which can be ably handled by the DPWH-7 regional director,’ said del Mar in her letter dated Sept. 1. The letter was received by Malacanang on Sept. 6.

“More people and groups support the two flyovers than those who oppose them,” she insisted.

Del Mar listed as her allies the Cebu City Council led by Vice Mayor Joy Young, two transport groups, an advisory council of past  presidents of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and resolutions signed by barangay captains in 63 out of 80 barangays.

She said the sub-structure of the two flyovers “have already been bidded out” and a P600 million budget has been in the infrastructure program of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways for two years for the two proposed flyovers to rise in M.J. Cuenco Avenue – Gen. Maxilom Avenue and Gorordo Avenue – Archibishop Reyes Avenue.

Del Mar noted that “surprisingly” Mayor Rama even approved the two flyovers in a June 24 resolution as the new chairman of the Regional Development Council. The resolution he signed approved a 2011-2016 investment program for Central Visayas, which included the Cebu City flyovers.

The first-term legislator, whose father, former Rep. Raul del Mar was instrumental in securing the budget for other flyovers in Banilad (opened in 2008) and Archbishop Reyes Avenue, was confident the President would take pride in the new structures.

She said the two additional flyovers would be “the first in Cebu City under your administration” and would show that “Cebu has not been overlooked in your development program.

Cutie ended by saying she was “looking forward to inviting the President to the inauguration for the two flyovers next year.

Meanwhile, a copy of an Open Letter to the President opposing the flyovers was received yesterday by the Cebu City Council from Joel Lee, executive officer of Permaculture Cebu Initiatives.

He said that “stakeholders in Gorordo Avenue” opposed the flyover plans for  being  a “useless” response to traffic congestion in the long term.

“We want Cebu City to be a sustainable and liveable city,” said Lee.

“We believe that we are now in the POST WANG WANG ERA, andthat the voice of the people matter once more.”

Last Tuesday, a citizens movement called “Stop Flyovers in Cebu” was organized following  a meeting called by Lee, an advocate for a sustainable environment and “green” living.

A Facebook account for the group  was quickly set up to draw more supporters from Cebuanos.

Tuesday’s meeting at West Gorordo Hotel, owned by Lee’s family, was attended by  homeowners,  business owners,  student leaders, a blogger’s association, NGOs,  retirees, and university professors, among others.

Architect Manuel Canizares, businessman Bunny Pajes and Citom executive director Rafael Yap also spoke in the forum.

Canizares said traffic congestion was related to flagrant violations of the Cebu City Zoning Ordinance and National Building Code.

Yap of Citom said the baseline traffic data which DPWH showed  for the new flyovers was “incomplete” and “flawed”.  He agreed with Pajes that a Transportation Master Plan was needed so that infrastructure projects would be based on sound planning.

Pajes said several businessmen like him are pushing for the completion of the MCLUTS plan started in the 1970s, which could be finished in one year at a cost of P25 million.

The need to consult urban planners and experts to guide the growth of Cebu City was emphasized by architect Joy Martinez Onozawa, who showed slides of Melbourne, Australia which was globally recognized in a 2011 survey as the “most liveable city” in the world.

The city has well-planned boulevards, bike lanes, open space for gardens, and orderly traffic.

Onozawa said she was against the flyovers because the massive concrete structures make people “disconnected” with the community.

“People can’t see the sky, trees… there is no connection to the people below. Our city will be divided,” she said describing the experience of motorists, pedestrians and residents living near the flyovers.

The Open Letter to the President which Lee is circulating for more signatures expresses frustration over the lack of long-term planning for Cebu City.

“(Flyovers) will not really solve the traffic problem, but will surely aggravate it further, as evidenced by the flyovers already in place,” he wrote.

“ It may ease the problem for sometime, but we think, not for more than three years. However over the long term these will be rendered useless. Surely there are several better alternatives available.

“As Mayor Rama has stated: Cebu is a historic-cultural city, and building the flyover in the central areas of the city will erode significantly the value and remaining elegance of our heritage city. In fact, there are cities that are now demolishing their flyovers, why should we still insist on building flyovers?”