Tim Orbos —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Mayors in the National Capital Region may approve in April the implementation of the modified odd-even scheme that can reduce vehicle volume on Edsa by half, according to the head of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
This would depend on the success of MMDA clearing operations that seek to rid the 17 Mabuhay Lanes of illegally parked vehicles and other obstructions, MMDA officer in charge and general manager Tim Orbos said on Tuesday.
Orbos explained that the modified odd-even scheme— which could affect 2.5 million private vehicles—would not replace but instead complement the existing expanded unified vehicular volume reduction program, also known as number coding scheme.
Under the scheme dubbed “Windows Two,” private cars, aside from complying with number coding, would also be banned for three two-hour intervals along Edsa from Monday to Friday.
Cars with license plates ending in odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) will be banned on Edsa from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Those with plates ending in even numbers (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8) can’t use the highway from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Orbos said the measure, which will cover the section of Edsa from Magallanes in Makati City to North Avenue in Quezon City, would cut vehicular traffic in Edsa by half and increase travel speed from the current 19 kilometers per hour to up to 40 kph.
In a meeting on Tuesday of the Metro Manila Council (MMC), the MMDA’s policymaking arm, Orbos said the new scheme may be approved by the mayors should his agency clear the 17 Mabuhay Lanes and remove the illegal terminals in Pasay and in Cubao, Quezon City, within the month.
The Mabuhay Lanes refer to a network of routes recommended for motorists who want to avoid traffic along Edsa.
“If we’re able to do (the clearing operations), we will be allowed to do the modified odd-even,” Orbos said.
To ensure that the public will have various transport options once the modified odd-even traffic scheme is enforced, the MMDA will scrap the number coding scheme for public utility vehicles.
Also on Tuesday, the MMDA approved a new ban on light trucks—or those with gross capacity weight of 4,500 kilos and below—on Edsa and Shaw Boulevard.
Under this measure, light trucks carrying nonperishable goods are not allowed on the southbound lane of Edsa and the westbound lane of Shaw from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., and on the northbound lane of Edsa and eastbound lane of Shaw from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.