Parañaque to open private roads

MANILA, Philippines–Parañaque City will soon introduce its version of Las Piñas’ Friendship Route, opening roads inside private subdivisions to motorists who are nonresidents, to ease heavy traffic on major roads.

Fernando Soriano, Parañaque City administrator and chair of the committee tasked to finalize the route, said that they hope to come up with a list of the alternate roads in two weeks’ time.

According to Soriano, the move was necessary to ease traffic congestion, particularly on Doña Soledad Avenue in Barangay Don Bosco, Rodriguez Avenue in Barangay Moonwalk, and Ninoy Aquino Avenue in Barangay Sto. Niño.

Although he noted that vehicular flow had improved since the local government implemented a truck ban on the city’s major roads, heavy traffic was still unavoidable during rush hour.

“The roads are kind of narrow so during rush hour, they get clogged. Our goal is to totally ease traffic,” Soriano said.

He added that so far, residents of Egypt and Guatemala Streets in Barangay Don Bosco had given the “go-signal” for both roads to be included in the city’s proposed Friendship Route.

He said the committee was set to meet with representatives of Barangays Don Bosco, Sun Valley, Marcelo Green and Moonwalk either today or Saturday to determine what other thoroughfares could be included in the route.

All the roads, he said, should be “within the [area of] Doña Soledad Avenue all the way to the East and West Service Road going out to the South Superhighway.”

“We will be negotiating for the [free] use of the roads but if that is not possible, [the fee] should be reasonable,” Soriano said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Mayor Edwin Olivarez said that homeowners’ associations, which allow some of the streets in their subdivisions to be included in the route, might be given “nonfiscal incentives” in return.

“We need to look at all the possible alternatives, including the creation of a Friendship Route and the deployment of more traffic enforcers in addition to the various measures that we have already put in place to ease the traffic burden on our constituents,” Olivarez added.