MetroBriefs: Over 100 motorists fined for parking on Mabuhay Lanes

OVER a hundred vehicles were cited for violations as authorities on Monday started removing obstructions on the so-called Mabuhay Lanes, a network of alternative routes for motorists who want to avoid Edsa during the holiday season.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said 99 motorists were fined P200 each for illegal parking, obstruction and disregarding traffic signs, while 13 vehicles whose owners were not immediately found were towed to an impounding area at Ultra, Pasig City.

Aside from vehicles, MMDA teams also removed structures like basketball posts, food stalls, billboards and even pet cages, said recently appointed MMDA Chair Emerson Carlos. The Mabuhay Lanes should be free of parked vehicles and other obstructions from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., he added.

A list and a map of the lanes are available at mmda.gov.ph. Maricar B. Brizuela

Condo project fire forces evacuation in Ortigas Center

A FIRE in the basement of a condominium building still under construction at Ortigas Center, Pasig City, sent up thick columns of smoke that spread to neighboring buildings and forced hundreds of office employees to evacuate on Monday.

The fire beneath the 55-story Avant Garde Residences, an Amberland Corp. project near the corner of Doña Julia Vargas and Meralco Avenues, was first reported around 1:45 p.m. and was declared out four hours later.

The Pasig City fire marshal, Chief Insp. Roy Quisto, said the blaze apparently started on the second-level basement where cans of paint and thinner, PVC pipes and other construction materials were kept.

There were no reported injuries but some 300 people at the nearby One Corporate Center had to evacuate as smoke seeped into that building.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation. The city engineering office may need to check whether Monday’s fire has affected the building’s structural integrity, Quisto added. Jovic Yee