‘Bikini island’ rises on Edsa-North Ave.

MANILA, Philippines–Motorists should be prepared for changes in the flow of traffic at the Edsa-North Avenue intersection in Quezon City beginning this week, including a “bikini island.”

As part of the road safety program of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA), changes will be implemented in the traffic management plan for the area, including the eventual closure of U-turn slots.

But first, the MMDA will construct a bikini island—a triangular rotunda—at the busy intersection so that vehicles traveling westbound from North Avenue would no longer have to make a U-turn to get to the opposite lane.

“We have observed that the chokepoints on Edsa corner North Avenue and Congressional Avenue are caused by U-turn slots in the area so as a solution, starting this week, we will adjust bus separators, remove some unloading bays and modify U-turn slot locations,” MMDA General Manager Emerson Carlos said during the agency’s Sunday radio program.

He later clarified to the Inquirer that they would close down the U-turn slots once the bikini island was in place.

“Those vehicles making a U-turn are obstructing cars plying Edsa which are going straight to Monumento,” Carlos explained.

In addition, steel fences in front of Trinoma mall would be installed to discourage buses from stopping to pick up passengers in the area—another cause of heavy traffic near the intersection.

“We really need to instill discipline because commuters waiting on the road could be hard to control especially if there are quite a number of them,” Carlos said.

He warned that those who wait for buses in no-loading areas would be fined since they could be considered jaywalking. Under an MMDA resolution, jaywalkers are fined P500 and required to clean esteros for three hours instead of attending a disaster seminar.

“Maybe this engineering intervention as part of traffic management will also curb the [bad] behavior of our road users,” Carlos said.